Chairman Cho Yong Hwan: Everpia leverages IR capabilities in line with development direction

We - Vietstock had the opportunity to interview Mr. Cho Yong Hwan, Chairman of Everpia, regarding the benefits of investor relations (IR) tied to the company 's operational strategy.

"As the first FDI enterprise listed on the Vietnamese stock exchange, from the early days of our establishment, we have fully recognized the importance of a transparent and efficient corporate governance model," Chairman Cho Yong Hwan reiterated, emphasizing that Everpia not only complies with all general corporate governance regulations as well as those specific to listed companies, but also references and integrates best practice structures and processes to guide and control the company, ensuring its sustainability for the best interests of shareholders and other stakeholders.

Rejecting the notion that struggling businesses do not implement IR, Mr. Cho stated that it is not necessary to have abundant resources to conduct IR. Additionally, he explained that IR activities essentially involve the transparent, complete, and timely provision of information to investors.

"When shareholders trust the company, they are more willing to accompany and help the company overcome difficulties more easily. This trust helps the company mobilize capital and leverage internal resources from shareholders, contributing to the company 's sustainable development," Chairman Cho Yong Hwan argued.

Everpia is also comprehensively implementing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria. According to Mr. Cho, Everpia 's "greening" journey begins with prioritizing natural or environmentally low-impact materials throughout the product lifecycle while striving to increase the use of sustainable materials for each main material type.

Currently, 100% of the fabrics in the annual bedding collection are made from cotton and wood pulp, 100% formaldehyde-free adhesives are used for producing Padding products, and developing ECO Padding products made from wool combined with recycled fibers.

In production, Everpia takes various measures to reduce energy consumption, waste, and emissions. As of now, Everpia 's factory in Giang Dien Industrial Park is one of eight factories meeting EDGE Advanced standards due to its green efforts in water, energy, and construction materials. This achieves a 44% energy saving, 23% water saving, and 26% material saving for the complex factory.

Chairman Cho Yong Hwan confidently states that possessing a range of certifications such as EDGE Advanced, Higg, GRS, Oeko-Tex Standard 100, and BSCI not only demonstrates Everpia 's strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility but also enhances the company 's competitiveness in export activities, as brands require suppliers to have environmental and social certifications.

Recognizing that 2024 will continue to be a challenging year for the bedding and padding business, the head of Everpia pointed out two factors significantly reducing the market size of the padding business:

Firstly, the production of jackets for export to the US and European markets has faced many difficulties post-COVID-19 as customers have shifted orders to Indonesia and Bangladesh, where labor and production costs are cheaper.

Secondly, the market demand for thick jackets and outdoor sportswear in the first half of 2024 decreased by 33% compared to the same period in 2023.

To compensate for the revenue decline in the padding business, Everpia is focusing on the domestic business segment with the Everon brand, which accounts for about 75% of Everpia 's total revenue. "We have been focusing on communication and developing new products suitable for diverse customer groups to compensate for the reduced revenue in the padding business and overcome the company 's difficulties," Chairman Cho Yong Hwan said.

In addition to domestic retail activities, the Dong Nai factory is promoting the export of bedding products to markets in Australia, New Zealand, the US, South Korea, and Cambodia. Everpia is also negotiating prices and delivery schedules. Mr. Cho believes and expects these new markets to significantly contribute to the 2025 sales.

According to Chairman Cho Yong Hwan, developing new products is one of Everpia 's priorities in 2024 as survey results show that even traditional Everon products can be upgraded and developed to better align with modern consumer trends.

"This helps us maintain our position and continue to create value for customers" Mr. Cho shared, seeing opportunities in expanding the product range, including core and accessory lines for the bedroom that Everpia had not previously exploited. Product diversity will help the company reach more diverse customer groups and provide more options for them. Above all, Everpia can fully leverage the advantages of its 420 nationwide sales point.

Chairman Cho Yong Hwan also highlighted that product quality is the key differentiator that makes Everpia products highly competitive in the market. Specifically, Everon has become the most recognizable bedding brand in the market due to its superior quality.

When mentioning Everon, consumers often refer to durability and beauty. Mr. Cho believes that even with continuous updates to new design trends and fabrics, the durable and beautiful quality of each bedding product from Everpia will always be ensured.

Regarding the product restructuring roadmap, Chairman Cho stated that Everpia will focus on addressing the weaknesses of previous collections and avoid product overlap among brands.

The company will eliminate ineffective PE and spring mattress product lines, focusing on core products that provide high value to consumers. Additionally, Everpia will improve PE mattresses for the Everon and Artemis brands, invest in technology, and use various hardness materials to meet diverse customer preferences.

Simultaneously, Everpia will restructure products, increase brand recognition, and develop exclusive distribution stores for KingKoil spring mattresses - the number one spring mattress brand in the US.

Besides bedding products, Everpia will expand and diversify accessories products, expected to contribute 15% of the 2024 retail sales.

In terms of distribution system restructuring, Everpia will collaborate with agents to build an omni-channel distribution system by encouraging all agents to use the POS software provided by Everpia to move towards automating order receipt and delivery processes. Additionally, Everpia will integrate its website, allowing agents to receive online orders from Everpia 's official sales website.

In showrooms, Everpia will implement technology solutions to clearly identify target customer groups and their consumption preferences, making the most suitable adjustments to products and services, such as rearranging product display positions according to customer travel paths and assigning tasks based on customer flow and staff sales skills...

Source: IR Awards 2024 Journal: Sustainable Development - Vietstock