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Having a partner plays a key role in exporting to Vietnam

The Basel-based company Magnolia has captured the market with its Content Management System, and has now expanded into Southeast Asia as well. The company has opened a location in Vietnam, and a sales office is currently being built in Singapore. In this interview, CEO Pascal Mangold explains what businesses need to look out for when exporting to Southeast Asia.

The partner in Vietnam helped Magnolia build a good network
The partner in Vietnam helped Magnolia build a good network

Pascal Mangold, Magnolia opened an office in Vietnam in 2014 and has since expanded it. How satisfied are you with the business performance in Vietnam?
We're very satisfied. The office in Vietnam is a production center; we don't offer local services there. We've been able to recruit a good workforce. We've invested in them and trained them, which has given us long-term employees who we can count on. At the same time, the office in Vietnam is also important for our expansion in Asia, which we started doing in July. We're establishing a sales office in Singapore, where we plan to offer local products for the local market.

What obstacles did you face in expanding your business to Vietnam?
In Vietnam, it's very important to cooperate with a partner. We knew that from the beginning. Our partner had already been in Vietnam for 14 years and knew the cultural landscape. They helped us to establish a good network and to acquire good employees. Without this partner, the beginning would have been much more difficult and presented many more challenges.

How do you manage to be successful in this country?
In Vietnam, having a partner is the key to success. With their help, we were able to find good employees, and those employees still work for us today. In Vietnam, it can be a challenge to find long-term personnel. It's also essential to understand the cultural differences. 

Are you planning further expansion or exports to Southeast Asia?
As I mentioned earlier, we've been active in Singapore as well as Vietnam since July. We have a sales office there. With the office in Singapore, we're able to promote sales activities within Southeast Asia and to win new customers. We aren't currently planning any further expansion in Southeast Asia.

Would you like to learn more about exporting to Southeast Asia? Meet Pascal Mangold and other experts at the Southeast Asia Export Dialog (in German) on 5 October in Basel. Register now

Do you want to know more about your opportunities in Southeast Asia? Register now for a country consulting session

About Pascal Mangold

Pascal Mangold is Magnolia's Chief Executive Officer, co-founder and president of the board. He has over 25 years of experience in sales, IT and UX. At Magnolia, he oversees business development and breaking into new markets all over the globe. For example, he was responsible for initiating and building the Vietnam branch of Magnolia.
His passion for IT and its effect on anf organization's success started back in the mid 1980s. Entering self-employment as a Macintosh support engineer in 1992, Pascal Magnold started a web agency in 1995 and helped customers with their first web initiatives. In 2002, he took a big risk and started focusing on one thing only: building the most user-friendly and scalable enterprise CMS. The platform has since evolved into a digital business platform, and Pascal Mangold has never looked back.

About Magnolia

Magnolia is a digital business platform with a CMS at its core. It's more than just a content management system, even though it's also one of the best in the world. Companies like Airbus Group, Sony, Avis Budget and Virgin America use Magnolia as the central hub for their web, mobile and IoT initiatives.
Magnolia's unique open suite approach allows organizations to go to market fast, integrate easily with third-party systems and adapt quickly to changing business priorities. This enables them to create outstanding multi-channel personalized digital experiences.

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