When "Snow White" wakes up

Bach Tuyet Cotton JSC is gradually becoming confident when setting a target of revenue in 2023 to increase by more than 10%, to VND184.4 billion, and pre-tax profit to increase to VND5.45 billion, 3 times higher than last year with the main products being cotton pads and masks.

A bad fall   

This confidence is justified. Business results of Bong Bach Tuyet in 2022 were positive with revenue of VND167 billion, and pretax profit of VND1.62 billion. Compared to the disastrous time more than 10 years ago, the company seemed to be wiped out from the market.

In 2022, one of the key investment projects of Bach Tuyet Cotton was the project of "improving cotton cooking technology" to change the production process from old technology to new technology for higher product quality and shortening the production process.

In terms of market strategy, the company has made a spectacular comeback when stepping into the Cambodian market with many Calla skin care cotton products, medical masks, and cotton swabs... In order to quickly regain its reputation. In the domestic market, in early 2022, the Company invested in its own showroom to promote its brand and products.

Bong Bach Tuyet's growth looked unstoppable in the golden age. Even the 1997 Asian financial crisis helped the Company triumph when it boldly imported enough cotton to produce for the year. Medical cotton goods had 90% of the national market share and sanitary napkins 30% from 1997 to 2002.

Bong Bach Tuyet was equitized with a charter capital of VND11.4 billion in 1997, 30% of which was owned by the State. Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange listed the business in March 2004.

After a wave of huge competition, the Company started losing money, especially in new technology. Snow White's new thick and hard tampons were unpopular because the consumer trend had moved to thin and gentle. The Company had only fixed capital, no working capital, and had to rely on the bank's credit limit because the goods were full.

At this time, Bong Bach Tuyet accounted for just over 60% of the market share, and sanitary napkins dropped dramatically to about 3% of the market share. In early 2009, more than 6.84 million BBT shares of Bong Bach Tuyet were delisted on the stock exchange.

Back to the track

Since 2014, the Company started to make a profit, although not significantly. Sharing with shareholders, Ms. Vo Thi Bich Thuy, General Director of Bong Bach Tuyet, admitted that the recent difficult period has caused other companies to rise to gain market share.

Currently, the Company has restructured, stabilized production and business activities, and paid off all principal debts, so revenue and profit have recovered year by year. According to Thuy, in the period 2014-2017, the losses were gone, and Bong Bach Tuyet was profitable again, along with that the market share increased by 20-30%.

After returning to the market, Bong Bach Tuyet focused again on the medical cotton industry, pausing the race in the attractive sanitary napkin market but facing fiercely famous foreign brands. are Kotex, Diana, Laurier, and Whisper. Currently, revenue from the medical bandage segment accounts for 65% of total revenue.

In addition to traditional products, the Company also develops other beauty products for women such as Merilynn cotton pads, and Meriday masks... But Basically, the product lines for medical and Health is still the mainstay when it has a brand, is easy to produce, and doesn't have to spend too much on marketing, while the main competitors in this segment such as Thanh Tin, Lien Hiep, Niva, Hiep Hung... not really stand out yet.

Another strong point of Bong Bach Tuyet is its nationwide distribution system, through pharmacies and hospitals as well as appearing on the shelves of supermarkets, Saigon Co.opmart, Aeon Mall, etc. WinMart, Simply Mart, One Shop (belonging to Nha Be Garment Corporation).

In general, if the financial restructuring is done more drastically, with the available brand and production capacity, Snow White may be strong enough to return to the race track. According to Euromonitor (at the time of 2014, when Bong Bach Tuyet invested again), the ice cotton market in Vietnam was still very fragmented when small brands still accounted for 59%.

A large population, pollution in big cities, an expanding hospital system, as well as the need to renovate women's beauty will provide opportunities for cotton swabs, cotton swabs, and medical gauze companies.

Notably, at the 2017 General Meeting of Shareholders, Bong Bach Tuyet had a new investor, Thua Thien Hue Investment and Import Export Joint Stock Company (Unimex Hue). Unimex Hue's decision to participate in Bong Bach Tuyet partly demonstrates the acquisition strategy of a group of outside investors when seeing that the business performance of Bach Tuyet Cotton is gradually improving and, importantly, this company owns its own land bank with a good location.

Typically, the housing project Nguyen Van Sang (Tan Phu) has recently received approval. The project with a total area of ​​more than 5,000 m2 was originally planned to be developed into a closed compound. In addition, there are the premises at 550 Au Co (Tan Binh district), together with 16,000 m2 of factories and warehouses in Vinh Loc Industrial Park (Binh Chanh).