A 60’s inspired piece from the Mad Men series.

 

A friend of mine recently asked me if I had seen or heard of the TV show called Mad Men. I like to think that I am pretty well informed with things that are going on, or I have at least heard of trends that are happening, but for this one, I have had my head buried in the sand. Somehow the HBO Mad Men TV series is on its 4th season and I have missed the almost cultural cult following it has had. I am not sure how, but I will claim my living and working in Asia as the cause.

There is a resurgence of the 50’s and 60’s look being led by the TV show Mad Men. Mattel has got on the bandwagon with Mad Men inspired Barbie and Ken dolls in 50’s and 60’s style clothing fashioned after the show. Orpah has had a TV show about the Mad Men show as has Saturday Night Live. And we know if it is going to hit clothes, fashion, toys, talk shows and a host of other products, it will also hit the furniture industry. I have recently asked my designers to also get on the bandwagon and design a few Mad Men inspired looks.

Just in case you have also had your head in the sand like I have, here are some links for you look at to see how Mad Men has been inspiring and will continue to inspire the 50’s and 60’s trend:

1. Marie Claire Magazine – Marie Claire Magazine shows you 11 high fashion items all inspired from Mad Men and the 50’s and 60’s look.

2. Unique Vintage – Unique Vintage from California has an entire collection inspired by the Mad Men TV show. They have been featured in popular magazines such as MODE to People.

3. Barbie and Ken – Mattel has launched a Mad Men’s collectables Barbie and Ken off the Mad Men characters. Here is a New York times article about this launch and this show.

4. Toyota Avalon - Take a moment to watch this Toyota Avalon commercial that uses a 50’s kind of Mad Men theme to sell their latest technology of their Avalon Car. A very clever commercial that plays on the use of the 50’s theme but in today’s era.

5. Momentoitalia - And just to make sure it made it into the home the Italian furniture manufacture Momentoitalia has a collection of 50s and 60’s inspired furniture that reflect the Mad Men era.

If you are not sure of this trend after looking at these websites, then try something on your own. Go on to Google and put in Mad Men Trends and see how many hits you can get on the search engine. Love or hate the show, it does have a cult following that is driving some significant fashion looks.

A Vietnamese Lacquer item.

Many times I am asked about the difference between the lacquer that is produced in Vietnam vs. what is produced in China. If you could see how the lacquer is applied in each country the difference becomes more obvious.I will try to list out for you the very different techniques used by China and Vietnam so that you can more easily understand them.

China:

Generally speaking Chinese lacquer is a dry process, meaning that no water is used in the production. Their process is really more of a lacquer paint process than a traditional lacquer process. Most of the factories will use a spray machine and will have a spray facility to paint the pieces. Once the base coat or under coat is sprayed they then come back and paint by hand. Chinese factories have very skilled hand painters and can do some very fine hand painting work which isuniformly consistent from piece to piece and production run to production run. This highly developed skill no doubt gives the Chinese factories a strong market for their products. TheChinese use the word lacquer quite freely to describe a wide variety of painting and finishing even if some would argue if some products are truly lacquer. This no doubt helps add to the confusion.

Vietnam:

Vietnam has a long tradition of hand applied lacquer which is a wet processwith from 10 to a 25 steps to complete the process. Most of lacquer is done out in the villages that have been producing this technique for over 300 years. In Vietnam, the pieces first need to be prepared by using a traditional clay mixture to make the pieces very smooth. This base coat is sanded again and again by hand using water and very fine sand paper. Only until the base is completely dried and fully prepared do they start on the paint process, which is done mainly by hand. It is fair to say that this lacquer is truly hand made. Unlike the Chinese lacquer that is generally used for fine painting or detailed painting, insteadthe Vietnamese are experts at being able to use things like gold and silver leaf, egg shell, in-lay mother of pearl, or other local materials in interesting and unique finishes. This could be one of the reasons why the Vietnamese designs in lacquer provide designers a wide latitude for creativity ranging from the traditional to the modern.

When comparing both techniques it should be the final result that determines its utility. It is not fair to say that one technique is better than the other, because both offer high quality, unique, and interesting products and finishes in the hands of inspired and dedicated craftsmen and designers.

   Mondoro has a 24/3 policy.

Mondoro spends a lot of time trying to train their employees to understand some basic concepts about working with their foreign customers and counterparts. During our Annual meeting this year we strived to introduce some new concepts and among one of these concepts is our 24/3 policy. 

What this policy means is that all Mondoro staff should answer the emails and other information they receive within 24 hours. I tell them the first email can be an acknowledgement, but then they should work to try to get back to the customer within 3 days with an answer or at least with a follow up. We strive to stress to our employees that our customers are generally very busy, and sometimes they may not be able to get back to us immediately so we should strive to advise them on a regular basis and follow up with them. 

To many of us in the western world this concept of following up may seem like a natural part of business. But in Asia this is not always the case, and finding the right balance is not always easy. What we may take for granted many Asians find strange and challenging. Following up for them may be perceived as being pushy or difficult; it may not be something they have been taught or comes naturally. Their culture is different from ours, so for them to follow up on a regular basis may be more of a challenge in an already difficult and full day of work. It is for this reason that we have started this 24/3 policy to remind everyone that it is not only important that you keep on top of things but that you make sure that you do. 

To help with this and to ensure this can go more smoothly for you our customer, Mondoro has recently hired a team of local technology experts to help us build an online based system for our design, product, inspection and administration processes. This on-line system will be one more step in a long process of digitalization and technical upgrading which has been a long and costly process for Mondoro ever since we first opened our doors here in Asia. Many visitors to our offices are impressed with our western technology. For us this on-line data system is our next step toward helping our employees accomplish more in less time and have the ability to serve you better.

China continues to have banking reforms.

 

In September this year Mondoro will be helping out underprivileged children in schools in Tibet and Vietnam. We will supply these children with school backpacks and also give the schools basic medical and school supplies.   A little can go a long way in helping these poor schools in Asia, with these new school backpacks and school supplies; it will make a huge difference in the lives of these children.   To find out more of how you can help, please click here.

In Chinese Luxury means “extravagant waste.”

The word luxury inChinese She Chi has a meaning which can be challenging for anyone who plans to sell into China. The word She means extravagant and Chi means arrogant and wasteful. So the word luxury in Chinese could literally be translated to mean an extravagant waste.

As with all things in China, this translation has a historical content that goes back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) when Xu Shen first organized the Chinese dictionary. From the dictionary use of these Chinese charactersthe word luxury developed a negative connotation describing the abuses of the elite and upper ruling classes towards the lower classes. Later during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Catholic Missionaries and Chinese Scholars in translating Chinese into Latin, continued to use these two characters of She Chi or extravagant waste to mean luxury. The translation was then officially adopted and continues to be used today.

To further complicate matters, throughout China’s history, Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist thought have all consistently taught that life should be lived frugally, and people should not display arrogance or show off their riches. Even today, frugality is considered by the Chinese to be one of the great traditional virtues. This is perhaps why so many of the consumers today in China tend to save more than their American counterparts and why many who come to China develop an exaggerated opinion that all Chinese are poor; when in reality there are many people here who may look poor on the outside but are rich by Chinese standards,if measured by the size of their bank account.

This points out that when marketers use the word luxury, it can be confusing or send mix signals to the Chinese purchasers. If you have for example a luxury car She Chi Che it could literally be translated to mean in Chinese an “extravagant wasteful car.” This is not the kind of meaning luxury marketers in China want to give to their potential customers.

For this reason many of the luxury brand marketers are changing the name they use from luxury, she chi to jing pin which means high end and fine products and they are dropping the word luxury from their marketing campaigns all together. This illustrates a point that when selling to another culture one of the most important things you can do is understand who you are selling to, their history, language and culture.

(To find out more about luxury behavior in China, I recommend reading “Elite China” by Pierre Xiao Lu).

A tragic story of a 3 year boy who died.

 

Anita reports on a problem in Asia when men in powerful positions may not be qualified or they may be corrupt. A friend of one of her staff took their two year old boy to a hospital run by the child’s grandfather who gave the parents an erroneous opinion that later resulted in the death of their son. Many powerful men cannot be challenged.. She compares Vietnam with China which has recognized this problem and has started to bring in qualified leadership trained in foreign universities to run many Chinese agencies.

 

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China continues to have banking reforms.

 

Banks, as we know it today, have existed in China since the Qing Dynasty, therefore China has had a long history of banking institutions. Most of the significant reforms have come after the 1990’s since China moved from a Planned Economy to a Socialist Market Economy. This is a two part series on a review of banking in China.

1990’s Financial Reforms: The 1990’s brought to China many significant banking, insurance and securities reforms. China was now steadily moving from a Planned Economy into a Socialist Market Economy. Some of the significant reforms are:

1. 1992 – In 1992 The State Council set up the Securities Commission and Regulatory Commission and separated securities form the State Bank.

2. 1993-94 – The reform of the banking continued whenthe Commercial banks were required to establish themselves as profitablecommercial banks. At the same time 3 additional policy banks were formed to ensure there was a separation between policy and commercial financing.

3. 1995 –The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Commercial Banks was enacted. This began to establish the specialized banks as state-owned commercial banks and this law helped to govern the working requirements of these banks. This law also confirmed the legal status of the PBC in regulating insurance, banking and trust activities. The PBC promulgated the Bank Lending Provisions. In short the banks now had to fully take responsibility for their profit and loss.

4. 1997 – There is no doubt that China learned a lessonin 1997 whenthe Asian Economic crisis sweep through many of the Asian countries and hurt their economies. Through China was not greatly impacted during this crisis they certainly did take careful notice. Since then, the Chinese government has strived to place a great emphasis on financial stability andhasimplemented laws and reforms to help regulate the financial risk and to put the financial sector in proper order.

5. 1998 – The China Insurance Regulatory Commission was set up to regulate the Insurance industry. The PBC continued to be responsible for the trust and banking sectors. Next month we will talk about the banking sector after the 1990’s and look at the banking sector in present day China.

  Mondoro’s Vietnam Office Showroom

By choosing the Mondoro you gain a partner in Asia with experience in the home furnishing and accessories industry. Mondoro designs, develops and manufactures products in China and Vietnam. Visit our website or contact us to find out more of how Mondoro can help your company.

 

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  Eco Friendly Continues to be Strong But With Some New Twists.

The ever present Eco Trend continues but with some new twists and with European designers and companies continuing to lead the way. This includes recycled plastic lights, furniture made and inspired from old gym floors, plastic chairs from recycled coke bottles, and Walt Disney Signature Collections with new line of adult chairs made from recycled products. Recycling and eco-friendly is a trend that is here to stay—now and in the future. Our industry will need to find new ways to utilize this new trend and provide our own Eco twist.

100 x 100  Is a Dutch based company that has developed a recycled plastic light for 100 Euros retails. The customers will order the lamp and not pay for the lamp until all 100 of the limited edition are have been sold. This clever idea goes on to several trends such as the eco trend with the recycled plastic and the status trend as the limited edition elements of the lights automatically give the lights an added status. Imagine the people who purchase them can say to their friends, “only 100 of these lamps were sold and I have one of the 100 pieces.” Talk about taking something simple and giving it status!

Soren Rose Studios a Danish design company is making furniture from old gym floors. Using recycled wood is not a new trend (see Mondoro’s recycled bench we have on this newsletter) but what is interesting is this company puts a new twist on recycled by saying this is from the gym floors and also inspired from these floors, giving the furniture a new appeal. These furniture pieces are also limited edition pieces so this adds to the status appeal of the furniture.

Emeco with Coke Chair This chair is a joint venture between Emeco and Coke and is actually molded in North Carolina, but was debuted at the Milan show. Expect to see more of this chair in other shows, including shows in the United States. The Chair will be sold in the United States exclusivity by Design Within Reach. Each chair uses 111 recycled plastic bottles. As with all good marketing, this trend continues to build on several trends. The most obvious is the eco trend, but also the trend of where there are companies in two completely different areas of operation, jointly working together. This is definitely a win-win for Coca Cola Company, so they can show the world they are eco-friendly and eco- responsible and seeking viable solutions to the recycling problem of their plastic bottles. Emeco also wins because their technology is used to develop the plastic for this chair.

Walt Disney Signature and Cappellini debut at the April 2010 Milan Show an colorful range of recycled adult plastic chairs. The Chairs are inspired from animal forms such as birds and fish and uses advanced waste recycling methods to manufacture this collection.

People are concerned about the environment. The latest major oil spill in the United States has showed us that the public cares and they want companies to be responsible for their environment. These companies continue to lead the way to show us that the eco trend is definitely here to stay. Waste recycling, using eco-friendly products and materials are not just a great marketing tool but also a new and successful way to do business.

  Woven Rattan is a Great Way to Add The Natural Look into Your Collection.

B.O.A.O.T means Be Only Asked One Time!

Ask any of our Mondoro Staff what B.O.A.O.T means and they will immediately tell you it means Be Only Asked One Time. We pronounce it bo-a-ut. We use this device to teach an important principle that we introduced at our last annual meeting when we informed everyone that Mondoro was now a B.O.A.O.T company. Our associates are now expected to have to be only asked one time to do something and then to do it right. Further, they are expected to exercise self-responsibility and not need constant supervision to make sure their work is done.

We would like to believe that this principle of self-responsibility has been our goal and has been a part of our culture from the beginning. This is just another effort to “raise the bar” and serve our customers better. Ideally associates should only be told to do something once and then exercise self-responsibility to ensure it is accomplished correctly and completely.

It may surprise the reader that this simple concept is not widespread in Asian companies. The typical Asian way is to work under a boss who is more like a God than anything else, and whose management policy is to instill fear and obedience. The staffs are considered inferior subordinates and in some cases are treated almost as slaves. The typical meeting with an Asian boss will find the boss lecturing a staff who may only pretend to listen. Contributions or ideas from the staff are definitely not encouraged; since the boss considers himself fully qualified without any help from his inferiors.

This principle can also be seen in the school system where teachers will lecture to the students and rarely are the children encouraged to participate or to ask questions. Rote memorization is the way that most schools teach with the teacher giving a sentence and the children repeating it again and again. Self-thinking and self-responsibility is not generally the Asia way of education. Fortunately America and Western Europe gave up this system of education long ago. I think that few westerners realized how lucky they are to have been to have been educated in school system that generally encouraged self-thinking, self-responsibility and self respect.

It is for this reason that teaching these principles has been such a huge part of Mondoro’s focus and company culture. We encourage our associates to think and to take self-responsibility for their work. We encourage them be an active participant on our team. That is at the core of what the B.O.A.O.T principle is about—it is about Being Only Asked One Time, but it is also about taking responsibility for getting the job done and to personally follow through to see it is done correctly the first time.  

  Asian Schools are in Need Of Your Help and Support.

This is a question that I get asked a lot. Why do Asian Schools need help? In Asia, school budgets are limited and generally the poorer the area the more help they need.   Last weekend we went to visit some schools in Xuan Mai, an area outside Hanoi. The Principal told us they had 500 students of which about 10% of them were children who were so poor their parents could not afford to pay for their school fees to attend school. In fact she added, these children are so poor that we have to give them pencils because they cannot even afford basic school supplies. These are the children that our school backpack program will help. click here to make a donation.  

 

4th of July Celebrations – Expat Style.

In America the United States Independence is such a big holiday that perhaps you may wonder how do American expatriates, who cannot go home, celebrate it? You will find that Americans around the world make this a very important holiday—perhaps it may mean more to Expats than to you! Even in a place like Hanoi, Vietnam there is a fun filled Independence Day celebration. This is ironic if you consider that this celebratory party is taking place just a few blocks down the street from a once notorious prison that held our service men during the Vietnam War—called the Hanoi Hilton. Just a short distance down that same street is the present Hanoi Hilton that is called Hilton Opera.

This party has all the trimmings of a regular 4th of July party, and it is not just for Americans, but Vietnamese and many other nationalities—so long as they purchase a ticket. A huge outdoor picnic buffet, Hanoi style, with American favorites such as hotdogs, potato salad, Mexican food , BBQ pork, Ruben sandwiches, salads, ice cream and donuts are all provided.

Entertainment and games is also included along with a show by the Hanoi Circus, a variety of outdoor games, and even face painting activity. One of my favorite parts of the evening is the US Marine Guard’s marching the colors as the National Athem is played by the Marine Pacific Brass Quintet. This always brings an emotional response from the Americans in the crowd. The evening ends with jazz music being played by a Grammy nominated artist Andromeda Turre and a raffle with over 150 prizes being given out.

Sounds a bit like your local celebration? This event which is sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce, strives to bring a bit of home to those Americans who are living in Hanoi.

Look below to see some photos from our celebration this year.

Photos of the crowd that attended.

 

The tickets included an large buffet and other treats such as KFC Chicken and donuts.

 

My friend Matthew Chao is showing his American pride!

 

This couple was spining around on those rollerskates!

There were flags and decorations everywhere.

 

As part of this cirus act, this man brought in two very large snakes. He was dancing with this snake around him. I am still trying to figure out how a half naked man with a snake is something American!

This little boy was very brave to allow this snake to be put around him! As you see I did not volunteer!

This was a watermelon eatting contest. A Korean man, not an American won!

 

Marine Corps Quintet is presently on tour and they came all the way from Hawaii to play for us.

Hanoi based US Marine Corps presenting the colors and flag.

 

  Buddhist Monk in the famous Con Son Tiger Cages (’66).

 Are Arbitration or Litigation Better to Handling Disputes?

The question whether to use arbitration or litigation in China for any particular dispute is not a simple one of choosing one over the other. Before deciding which to use there are 9 key areas to consider which include 1) nature and size of the dispute, 2) location, 3) pre-trial/discovery, 4) time, 5) confidentiality, 6) appeal or no appeal, 7) compromise, 8) decision maker, 9) cost. They are defined as follows:

1. Nature and Size of Dispute: Larger companies generally will choose litigation over arbitration because the amount of money in the dispute is larger. Cost of litigation may be the decisive factor when considering the possible outcome. Some cases are so small, or potentially small, that they may not be worth the time and effort involved in litigation and so you may choose arbitration. If the nature of the dispute is simple, arbitration would probably be the easier route. I know for my business, arbitration would generally be the best route since we are small and the amounts in dispute are likely not worth the likely litigation costs.

2. Location: One factor that must be considered; particularly in China, is where the litigation will be resolved. If the dispute is between two Chinese companies, then it must be resolved in China. In litigation you have some choice of where you can file the lawsuit. If you are a foreign company you could choose to resolve it in the United States or Hong Kong, or another foreign location. Generally you can sue where you are domiciled, even if you are a foreign company doing business with a Chinese company in China. Some courts in China especially in Western China, may not be as professional as others. Because of this, I would consider choosing arbitration there,  instead of using the potentially flawed court system. 

In arbitration both parties voluntarily agree to arbitration, so they both also agree to the arbitration location which must be correctly specified and included in the arbitration agreement from the outset. For example there is no Guangdong Arbitration Commission; it is called the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission.  Article 16 (3) of the Arbitration law says “An arbitration agreement shall include arbitration clauses stipulated in the contract and agreements of submission to arbitration that are concluded in other written forms before or after disputes arise.(3) a designated arbitration commission.”1  This location listed must be legally valid and correct.   

3. Pre-trial/Discovery: Arbitration does not provide for a real pre-trial phase for discovery as does litigation. With litigation you are under exacting rules for the gathering of evidence and disclosure of evidence%. For some disputes the pre-trial process maybe very important. For example%, if your case is very complicated your expenditure for% the pre-trial process may well be worth the extra cost it may require. If you need to be able to subpoena a witness to show clear evidence at trial, such as in a “whisle blowing” or corruption case, you will need to select the litigation process rather than arbitration which does not allow you to subpoena an unwilling witness. types of disputes, the legal strategy may be to wear down or bury the other side in paper work during the pre-trial phase.  The expense of an expert witness may help you build a stronger case. All of these are reasons why a dispute may require a significant and expensive pre-trial phase. For many smaller to medium size business disputes, the pre-trial is usually not necessary. In a multimillion dollar dispute it could mean the difference between winning and losing a case. 

4. Time: Time is a factor in deciding between litigation and arbitration. Litigation will generally take more time—possibly years. On the other hand, arbitration generally will settle the issue more quickly—certainly an advantage if time is very important.   

5. Confidentiality: There is also a difference between the need for confidentiality of the outcome or the resulting public records available to everyone including the media. The outcome of arbitration is not public record and generally speaking litigation is. This means under litigation it will easier for the public to find out information about the dispute. There are many business disputes, both large and small, where disclosure to the public may damage both parties to the dispute. On the other hand, disclosure to the public of upcoming litigation may become the main reason for starting the litigation. It can serve as a warning to future potential violators that you will prosecute.

6. Appeal or No Appeal: Under arbitration there is no appeal, but under litigation you can appeal the decision. The award decided under arbitration is conclusive and binding on the parities. On the other hand for litigation an appeal is allowed, and may be an important consideration.

7. Compromise: The arbitration process encourages compromise—litigation does not. There is a social and public relations value to a company what can avoid unnecessary or damaging litigation. The United States, among all the countries of the world, has a reputation for excessive litigation—especially by powerful interests who win often by overwhelming the opposition. If both parties agree to arbitration ahead of time voluntarily, they both improve their public image. On the other hand with litigation a clear winner or loser is determined with the guilty or not guilty pronouncement at the end of the trial—which of course may be the desired outcome. For other types of cases the compromise aspect of arbitration may help the parties to re-build their business relationship and continue working together.

8. Decision-maker: Under arbitration the arbitrators are appointed by both parties and the parties can appoint the arbitration tribunal. It does not mean they can only choose someone on their side, but arbitrators need to be neutral. Article 30 states “An arbitration tribunal may be composed of either three arbitrators or one arbitrator. An arbitration tribunal composed of three arbitrators shall have a presiding arbitrator.” So the parties can decide if they will have one or three arbitrators and who they will be. In litigation you cannot choose the judge or the court. Judges are pre-appointed. The uncertainty may be an advantage or not depending on the type of issue.

9. Costs: Arbitration is very likely to be less expensive to both parties, especially when there is a quick resolution. Litigation can be extremely costly due to requirement of pre-trail/discovery and other aspects of the case. If a lot of money is at stake and you have a huge loss on your hands, you may need and want to pay for the costs involved in litigation.

Policies and procedures that avoid both arbitration and litigation works best, but when litigation may be required we prefer to purchase an insurance policy, when available, and shift potential litigation to receive support from our insurance company. The reality is for international business to potentially start a case in litigation can be very costly and time consuming. Even arbitration can be expensive, but since it is handled quicker it can be less devastating The fact is any type of dispute takes away from business.