CEO Mai Son: From flight attendant to fashion empire

As a leader in the fashion retail industry, Pham Thi Mai Son, founder and CEO of Maison Retail Management International (MRMI), believes MRMI with its two-decade core values development is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this growth and the opportunity it presents.

Pham Thi Mai Son, CEO of Maison RMI. Photo by Maison RMI

It is known that before falling in love with fashion, you worked in the aviation field for a while. What inspired you to enter the fashion industry?

I began my career as a flight attendant for Vietnam Airlines where I worked over seven years. The job allowed me to visit many places around the world and experience new cultures. It was an amazing time for Vietnam as the country was opening up more and more to the world. There was a real sense of future prosperity for anyone who wanted it and was willing to take the opportunities at hand.

Fortunately, one thing I quickly realized being overseas was how many cool, famous fashion brands people were wearing, which I’d never seen available in Vietnam. I used to spend my free time shopping and when I’d come back home, my friends would always notice my new clothes, shoes or bags and ask me where I got them. I soon felt there could potentially be a huge opportunity in the market for international fashion brands in Vietnam.

Then one day, on a business trip to Singapore, which I’ll never forget, with $300 in hand, I bought two huge Mango bags. I was so happy with those items since they were affordable and beautiful and sold some to my friends who all loved them. I felt this brand might be suitable for Vietnamese people and soon after began approaching Mango directly, thus taking the first steps in my fashion career.

Can you share your journey to start your business, including challenges, opportunities, especially when few people thought about bringing international fashion brands to Vietnam.

When I initially intended to bring Mango back to Vietnam, I had no relationship to rely on. I had to create my own relationships by approaching people. At first, no one knew who I was. Many foreigners had not paid much attention to the Vietnamese market at that time, mainly focusing on the Chinese and Indian markets. But I persisted, calling every week, and finally, Mango invited me to Spain. We worked for almost two years before we were given the rights to bring the brand to Vietnam. We opened our first Mango store in 2004, in HCMC and have never looked back since.

I thought I would be successful if I could present the market and opportunity clearly and mention the points I felt the partners were looking for. Ultimately, all these international brands are looking for trusted local partners with local expertise. When I contacted Mango, I had to show them new things and the needs of the Vietnamese market. Understanding Vietnamese consumers and the Vietnamese market is the key to securing brands.

A Maison RMI’ store. Photo by Maison RMI

During two decades, what are the core values that MRMI has pursued? What factors made a difference and made MRMI’s name so reputable in the fashion field?

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates were both once asked in an interview to choose one word they believed has contributed to their success. Without hesitation, they both said “focus.” To me, focus is essential.

So often, especially in Vietnam, it seems that once companies and entrepreneurs start enjoying some level of success, they lose focus and begin to over-diversify, trying to invest and expand into many non-core businesses. To me, the more industries and business models you diversify into, the more your essential resources like time, capital, energy, and team attention gets spread thin. Plus you will be going up against incumbents with way more experience and know-how than you. For me, I just do fashion. I’m not letting any distractions get in the way that don’t push forward our objective to be a leading fashion retailer in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Next is high quality. I strongly believe MRMI has the highest standards of quality when it comes to fashion. For every brand we decide to bring into the market, my team probably considers and rejects 20. We also spend a tremendous amount of time considering where to open our stores and reject a lot of locations with other high-quality brands if they don’t meet our internal criteria.

Equally important is integrity. MRMI encourages open and direct communication where everyone’s opinion is listened to in an open-minded manner. Open and direct communication sometimes means having uncomfortable conversations, but that’s essential to reaching the truth and achieving the best outcome, which is in everyone’s interests.

Last is playfulness and diversity. Work is going to make up a large part of your life, so why not have fun while you’re doing it! At MRMI we respect diversity and people’s ideas. We work hard to ensure that there are always opportunities for all of our team in both their career and self-development. We believe that our human resources are a core asset to strengthen our business and sustain our growth.

Vietnames KOLs attending a Maison RMI’ event. Photo by Maison RMI

How do you assess the potential of the Vietnamese fashion market?

Since the early 2000s, Vietnamese people have become more affluent, with their purchasing power steadily increasing relatively evenly across all provinces and cities. It’s now one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a uniquely young demographic. Nearly 65% of the country’s population of 98 million is said to be under the age of 35.

There’s never been a better time to be a fashion retailer in Vietnam, with consumption being driven by the rapidly emerging middle and upper middle class. The Vietnam fashion market is expected to reach +/- $8.6 billion by 2025, growing at a CARG of 8.6%, far outpacing our regional peers.

I can proudly say that our company is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this growth and the opportunity it presents. If you look at our portfolio, nearly 85% of our brands are in the mass- aspirational or sportswear segment, with an additional 15% in the mid-high-end segment, which matches the source of economic growth and consumer demand in the coming years.

Add to that the excellent economic development coming from tier 2 and tier 3 cities around the country and the incredible supply of upcoming high quality real estate developments and commercialized shopping streets nationwide. When you consider all of this, the growth potential is truly exciting.

What is your vision for the next five to 10 years with MRMI in particular and the domestic fashion industry in general?

Today our company is generating over $110 million with 80% of our stores located in Hanoi and HCMC. Over the next five years, we expect tier 2 and tier 3 cities to make up at least 30% of our growth, and our overall sales are forecast to reach $400 million by 2027 – driven by expansion of our existing portfolio of popular brands, the introduction of new brands to the market, expansion into new cities and the excellent growth of our e-commerce and online platforms.

With foresight and identifying fashion as an industry for long-term development, within the next five years, MRMI will reach three times the current scale with more than 400 stores nationwide with several new brands, and be listed on the stock exchange. MRMI aspires to become a leading fashion retailer in Vietnam.

Pham Thi Mai Son, CEO of Maison RM, began her career as a flight attendant. Photo by Maison RMI

Can you tell us a little bit about your style?

I am pretty diverse in choosing fashion brands to suit my daily life and work. I can use Charles & Keith, Pedro, Coach, Gigi, as well as Ceci, and also love MLB – one of the famous fashion brands from Korea.

When walking or hanging out with friends, I wear Pinko and Marhen. J, Max & Co. and at the weekend, Max Mara because the style and the designs from these brands are very fresh.

I often wear Charles & Keith and Pedro’s clothes because, for less than VND2 million, it is possible to own many beautiful shoes, sandals, bags, and fashion accessories.

During 20 years of doing business, what do you see yourself gaining and losing?

I often look at things positively to share what I have gained. We have one life, so why choose a boring life? I love fashion, so I decided to start a fashion business. I have been in the fashion business for 20 years. For me, it is joyful. If I went back, I might still choose fashion to start a business.