Today was yet another great day! We started it off with a great guest lecture at UEF about the Mekong Delta and it’s importance to Vietnam. This was followed by our first Vietnamese language class where we learned how to greet people. Today also included out first site visit to TTT. We were given a presentation and a tour of their factory. First, TTT is and interior manufacturer. They design and build modern interiors for home, hotels, and offices. In their presentations they showed us some of their project and they were very interesting. Its was very interesting to learn about the specific space they work in. TTT has done interiors for 50% of 5 star hotels in Vietnam, a stat that immediately impressed me. The picture that they displayed were also very impressive. One aspect that I found particularly interesting was their sustainability initiatives. They described to us how a lot of their clients give they parameter and certification they must meet when doing these interiors. This costs them a lot more money and is the reason that most of their clients are considered high-end.

Off of that they also described some of their logistics. A lot of their materials are imported to meet these standards that are being set. This adds to the cost, hence adding t0 their expenses. This also explains why most of their client are wealth foreign entities. It was also vert interesting to hear how they need to meet different country standards when exporting. They explained how when shipping to Canada vs the US they have different specs for different standards between the countries. All of this was very interesting to hear about.

While TTT mostly works with high-end clients, it is still interesting to hear about some of these regulations and standards they must meet. Vietnam is still a developing nation and yet they are producing these interiors to the same standard as high-value economies like the US. Its was also really eye opening to see the high-end investment within Vietnam, and how some companies use domestic suppliers to build these high end interiors. Can’t wait to continue these visits and learn even more about Vietnam!