Thien Long 40 years

Media: TuoitreNew.vn

A 40-YEAR JOURNEY OF THIENLONG GROUP ALONGSIDE VIETNAM’s INTELLECT

Focusing mainly on the development of stationery products, after 40 years, from a small workshop
producing ballpoint pens, Thien Long has become a "national" brand with millions of products,
accompanying generations of Young Vietnamese on the journey to conquer the power of
knowledge.

From the dream of a ballpoint pen made in Vietnam

The world's first ballpoint pen was born in October 1888 by John Loud, United States. But nearly a
century later, we have only had the first "made in Vietnam" ballpoint pen, produced by Mr. Co Gia Tho –
founder and chairman of Thien Long Group – since 1981.
At that time, most ballpoint pens were imported from Thailand in such small quantities that some people
had to pump ink to reuse. Mr. Co Gia Tho, then a pen dealer, was complaining about producing his own
ballpoint pens in Vietnam, bringing a greater supply to people.

Thien Long TL-08 ballpoint pen, also the first ballpoint pen made in Vietnam, was born in a small factory
in District 6, Saigon. Photo: Thien Long supplied

At that time, the concepts of "distributor" or "retailer" were not formed and very vague, Thien Long with
the desire to expand the market throughout the country took the initiative to gradually offer to small
merchants in wholesale markets to go further like Binh Tay market, Kim Bien Market, Phung Hung
Market. However, not all markets support Vietnamese goods. Small businesses at Le Loi stationery
market - the largest stationery wholesale market in Saigon at the moment - often prefer to sell foreign
goods. In order not to depend on the markets, Mr. Tho and his first colleagues brought the ballpoint pen
product "made in Vietnam" to all the western and central provinces and even up the North.
Thien Long 40 years
Media: TuoitreNew.vn

By 1997, Thien Long had completely dominated the ballpoint pen market, which is a familiar name of
generations of students. Photo: Thien Long supplied

Phuong Nga - a young woman from 90s generation recalled: "Back in secondary school, books I could
forget, but at all costs Thien Long ballpoint pen must be brought with. My mom used to buy a whole big
box of the pens and split them up among me and my two sisters. To use the pen is to feel good. I
remember that I used to scarved some marks or write my name onto the pens to help them not to"get
lost". Now when I’m at work, I rarely use pen as much as before; however, sometimes seeing those
familiar pens in the bookstore strangely makes me feel very happy, suddenly remember my childhood!"

To the leading brand of stationery industry in Vietnam

After 4 decades of development, Thien Long still persists with stationery despite the impacts of society,
the market has changed much of the way people receive information and knowledge.
In the 2000s, with the advent of digital technology and a series of new means of exchanging and
recording information such as phones, computers, or now tablets, laptops, Thien Long remained firmly
ahead of his choice. One of the reasons why the brand of ballpoint pens once overcame the change of
times is the determination of the board and the creative dynamics of a team.
[Illustration]
In order to increase competitiveness, Thien Long has worked with experts in the region, inviting them to
Vietnam to cooperate and exchange the most advanced ballpoint pen production technology. However,
with the foresight, Thien Long's management has said that it is impossible to revolve around the pen but
need to expand the product group. And Thien Long's strategy of exploring the market with new products
in addition to pens in 2008 was also appreciated for its caution in order to find the needs and tastes of new
generation customers. As a result, stationery products in addition to the pen of the Vietnamese brand
launched later quickly received the love of not only the group of office workers but also the favor of the
new generation of students.
Thien Long 40 years
Media: TuoitreNew.vn

In particular, the products in the stationery group recorded sustainable growth over the past decade since
becoming a public company. Until 2016, Thien Long became the No. 1 stationery brand in Vietnam with
60% market share in the country and continuously expanded export markets. To date, Thien Long
products have been available in 67 countries worldwide.

Along the journey of resuing Vietnamese knowledge for the past 4 decades

From the founding-day to today, Thien Long has always believed in the power of knowledge and youth.
Therefore, besides business activities, Thien Long Group also put its heart into social programs to ignite
knowledge. The most typical is the program "Relaying the exam season" that Thien Long has been
persistently accompanying for more than 20 years.
During the accompanying journey, Thien Long is proud to have worked with the Central Committee of
the Vietnam Students' Union, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Youth Newspaper to fire up
Thien Long 40 years
Media: TuoitreNew.vn

nearly 20 million candidates and their family members across the country; deploying 58,618 volunteer
squads at all levels, with the participation of 1,018,231 young people and students volunteering; The total
resources raised are nearly $200 billion.
[Mini-infographic]

According to Mr. Le Tuan Anh - Member of the Youth Department of The Central School of the Union,
Deputy Chief of The Central Office of the Vietnam Students' Union shared, "Over 20 years of extensive
implementation on a national scale, the Relay Program has made a good mark while promoting the
development of the Vietnamese youth generation, create a useful activity for young people to contribute
and share with the community, from which this core force is growing and living more meaningfully with
a beautiful youth."

Box: Thien Long 40 years