GLOBAL BRANDING

Cultural Insights Outline

Portion of Brand-Launch
Project

Anh Tran
STUDENT ID: S3915239 LECTURER:
Phuong Phung. Word count:
1539
Introduction
Canifa is a clothing brand of Hoang Duong Trading and Service Joint Stock Company-HDTex
group. Established in 1997, Hoang Duong company operates in the business of clothes
manufacturing and exporting with excellent products made from wool. Canifa was founded in
2001 to take advantages of the growing demand for high-quality wool clothing products of the
domestic market in the beginning of the 21st century (Canifa n.d). The Company’s positioning
within the Vietnamese market is that of a High-Quality, Safe and Fashionable brand that serves a
multitude of customers: from men, women to children; regardless of personal incomes and
demographical factors like age or geography (Canifa n.d).

Canifa has many leverageable strengths, such as their expertise in wool products. Canifa’s high
level of quality is demonstrated through the brand’s achievements of international standards and
qualifications, such as the Cotton USA, Woolmark and OEKO Tex 100 (Grade 1 and 2) for
products and LEED for sustainable and “green” infrastructure (Canifa 2019). In addition, the
company also has licensed partnership with well-known franchises like Disney, Angry Birds, and
Hello Kitty (Canifa 2019) to produce products that are attractive to children. That being said,
Canifa is vulnerable against competing fast fashion brands that collaborate with established
designers like Uniqlo or Zara to make trendy clothing pieces and special collection.

Regarding the opportunity for international launching; now, as the brand is well-established in
Vietnam; along with a globalizing trend in apparel retail business; it’s time for Canifa to enter
other market to promote its brand and further consolidate it. In addition, the negative impact of
the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, logistic and business has diminished as the world has
gotten used to the new normal. As a result, this is the perfect opportunity for Canifa to expand its
business to new markets, in this case: Thailand.

Economic-Geographic Environment 
Geographical factors: Thailand is a country with a warm climate all year round; outerwear
clothes like jackets or sweaters are only needed for evenings in high-altitude regions in the North
(Worlddata n.d.). Because Canifa not only has wool and yarn clothes but also cotton and kaki
products for the summer (Canifa n.d) along with sun protection jacket; the brand can easily enter
the market with their products as it is suitable for the weather of Thailand. Contrary to popular
beliefs, wool clothes can be used in the summer (with hydrogen peroxide treatment) as they
allow the material to transport moisture and absorb water (Wang, Shen & Xu 2012). As a result,
Canifa’s strength can still be applied with their summer wool clothes like wool polo shirts or
wool dreses. Additionally, with the leverageable strengths in its product quality of both cotton
and wool, it is likely that Canifa will be perceived well in Thailand. In addition, the proximity of
the 2 countries can reduce the logistical issue and make a positive impact on the prospect of
entering the market.

Market situation: Textile and clothing ranks 8th in import from Vietnam to Thailand, accounting
for 8% of product share with a value of approximately $403,000 (WITS 2019). With the apparel
retail market of Thailand, the entry barriers are not challenging and allow for easy entrance as
the requirements of capital is not high (Marketline 2021b). As a result, it would be more cost-
efficient to enter Thailand in comparison to other countries in the region. Furthermore, it is also
worth noting that there is also a large market for non-designer retailers like Canifa among Thai
customers who seek affordable branded products (Marketline 2021b).

Current economic conditions: Thailand’s economy has bounced back from the impact of the
pandemic in the fourth quarter of 2021 and is growing more significantly than expected (Sriring
& Thaichareon 2022). Before the pandemic, household consumption expenditure of the country
had already been rising tremendously because of the growing personal income (Marketline
2021b); so if people’s life return to normal condition after the pandemic, it will allow Canifa to
access a multitude of customers with adequate financial background that can afford Canifa
products in an abundance (for reasons that will be explained in the Social environment section).

Infrastructure: The infrastructure (transportation, technology, and telecommunication) of

Thailand is relatively strong compared to neighboring countries like Vietnam or Cambodia
(Watchravesringkan et al. 2010). In addition, in recent years, there are also investments into large
infrastructure projects like the renovation of Suvarnabhumi airport, a new dry port for containers
and a high-speed rail project linking Thailand with China that costed 1.4 million baht (Reuters
2022). All these additions provide significant convenience regarding logistic for importing
brands.

Social-Cultural Environment 
Demographic trend: Thailand birthrate has been decreasing and the rate now equates to only one-
third of that in 2013 (Setboonsarng & Thepgumpanat 2022). It is predicted that by 2030;
Thailand will become a super-age country as the population of people over 65 years old is
forecasted to account for roughly 20% of the total population (Marketline 2021a). This can be a
hinderance to Canifa’s potential in the future as the amount of target customers of young female
adults (25-40 years old) will likely drop.

Cultural: Thailand cultures share many similarities with that of Vietnam: like the common
practice of Buddhism which results in shared cultural factors like the respect for the elderly and
emphasis on family (WorldAtlas 2018). But it is worth noting that there are differences in
customs; for example: Thai people have their own way of greeting others as people use a gesture
called wai (the action of bowing while simultaneously pressing their palms together to express
respectfulness (AFS-USA n.d.). In addition, Thailand people are also more open and laid-back
compared to Vietnamese (William 2021).

Social Institutions: Thailand is a highly collectivist society (Hofstede Insights n.d.), which
indicates that the consumers will likely have behaviors with family orientation. This can benefit
Canifa as they have a diverse range of products for all ages, which can be perceived as a family-
oriented brand by the customers and encourage them to purchase an abundance of products at a
time for their family and help boost the brand’s revenues.
Political-Legal Environment 
Political factors: Thailand in recent years have faced tremendous political turbulence. Most
notably, the situation with former prime minister Yingluck Sinawatra deteriorated so
significantly that in 2014 the military conducted a coup-d’état to overthrow Sinawatra and
establish a new government (Fuller 2014). Despite the positive promises of the military, the new
governing body’s alleged corruption and delay to carry out a new election is the cause of various
anti-government street protests that still results in drastic social unrest in the country
(Tanakasempipat & Thepgumpanat 2018).

Formal trade barriers: Thailand has high tariffs on products competing with domestically
produced goods and apparel is one of them. Certain clothing products experience a 60 percent
import tariffs by the Thailand government (ITA 2021b). In addition, Thailand customs law can
be considered as inadequate and does not meet the standards of the Kyoto convention; the
guidelines provided by the government can lead to misinterpretation and misapplication of
products valuation when entering the market (ITA 2021b).

Global business promotion: From September 2021, Thailand government offers several
incentives regarding immigration, tax and real estate for foreign investors and professionals to
stimulate economy after it suffers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (Koty 2021)

Intellectual property: Thailand is a member of the World Trade Organization and World
Intellectual Property Organization therefore the country follows pre-established international
intellectual property standards (ITA 2021a). That being said, counterfeit and pirated apparels still
pose a significant challenge for clothing retailers in Thailand despite efforts to enforce
intellectual property rights from the government (Marketline 2020). There are still occasional
large counterfeit busts that has significant worth which can be up to 50 million baht of clothes
that well-known brands like Adidas, Gucci, Nike (Petpailin 2022) and counterfeit clothing are
still being sold openly in market like Chatuchak, Patpong or Pratunam market (Battaglia 2019).

Evaluation:
Standardization:

As analyzed above, Thailand is a collectivist society and it happens to coincide with Vietnamese
people belief; as a result, the emphasis on family in advertising material can be standardized to
not only save cost; but also help creating a global brand image for Canifa. Canifa can keep using
image of families in their website and other advertising materials (appendix 1). It is also
convenient that this action also takes advantage of Thailand customers’ rising interest in online
shopping because of its convenience, diversity, and affordability (Marketline 2021b)

Furthermore, it has also been stated and proven above that the product of Canifa is fitting for the
climate of Thailand, therefore there can be a standardization of Products when entering the
Thailand market.
Adaptation:

As consumers in Thailand demonstrate interest in culturally related product while also enjoying
urban style clothing (Arunyanart & Utiswannakul 2019); Canifa can also slightly adapt their
products (like T-shirts) to incorporate picture of Thailand’s cultural heritage or cultural pattern to
appeal to this segment of customers.

In addition, the differences in customs will also require adaptation in employee’s manner; as
Thailand customers are not only more laid-back and open but they also use different greeting
manners. Employees will need to be trained to get accustomed to those actions to avoid being
perceived as disrespectful toward the customers and hurt the brand image.

-The end-
Appendix

Appendix 1. https://canifa.com

Reference list

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