Digiworld bets big on consumer goods and healthcare

Digiworld JSC has just revealed its business strategy for 2018, which includes aggressive plans to boost its presence in the healthcare and consumer goods industries. The goal this year is to earn at least VND200 billion ($8.78 million) of gross revenue from these two sectors.

The distributor plans to achieve this target by constantly rolling out new offers throughout 2018. Specifically, in the second quarter, Digiworld will introduce a series of children’s healthcare products that are imported from the US.

In the next quarter, Digiworld will launch other products for liver protection and circulatory system improvement.

Last August, the firm made its debut in the industry with Kingsmen, which promises to improve the physiological energy of men above 40 years old. Revenue from Kingsmen will be included in Digiworld’s financial reports this year.

For the consumer goods sector, Digiworld is strengthening its partnership with CL, the Thai subsidiary that it took over last October. CL currently distributes household products from Japan’s Lion Corporation at Vietnamese supermarkets and convenience stores.

Doan Hong Viet, chairman and CEO of Digiworld, revealed that the two partners will launch five new categories of Lion products in their Vietnamese distribution network, which entails 877 supermarkets and 20,000 points of sale across the country.

“Each of us brings what we do best to the table: CL already has the seller’s code at leading retailers such as Co.op Mart, AEON or Lotte Mart, while Digiworld offers 20 years of distribution experience,” said Viet.

It looks like 2018 is going to be a busy year for Digiworld. Besides ambitious plans in healthcare and consumer goods, the firm will also stick to its core business of electronics distribution. Digiworld is the Vietnamese partner of Xiaomi, a major electronics firm from China, and Sharp, a Japanese brand that was recently bought out by the Chinese.

For the heavily saturated laptop market, the firm counts on niche segments such as tailored products for Korean and Japanese businesses. There is an interesting contrast: while Digiworld plans to sell affordable smartphones in partnership with Xiaomi and Sharp, its laptop products will be in the mid- to high-end segment.

Overall, Digiworld sets its 2018 goal at VND4.7 trillion ($206 million) of revenue, up 23 per cent from 2017, and VND101 billion ($4.4 million) of profit, which equals a 28-per-cent increase.