Minh Long Co. Ltd. Collection Items

• Main Authors: ZERRILLO, Philip C., CATASTI, Paolo
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
• Subjects: New Business Venture; Break Even Analysis; Strategic Expansion; Porcelain; Vietnam; Southeast Asia; Asia; Collection Items; Training and Development; Asian Studies; Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations; Marketing; Strategic Management Policy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/36; https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/2541; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/cases_coll_all/article/1038/filename/0/type/additional/viewcontent/SMU_12_0030TN__Minh_Long_Collections.docx
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The tall porcelain vase stood forlorn next to a large kiln on the Minh Long factory floor in Saigon. Portions of its surface were scarred by a myriad of tiny bubbles. “Six months of work wasted.” blurted Mr Ly Ngoc Minh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Minh Long Porcelain Co. Ltd., to his son Ly Ngoc Sang as he slowly walked away, disconsolately shaking his head. It was January 2012, and Mr Minh had to soon make a decision about the collection item product line. They were beautiful items and no other piece of dinnerware or figurines made at his factory could better communicate to the entire world the statement of quality of Minh Long’s porcelain. Whether he should expand production in this area was a question that needed to be answered. He wondered if the investment in expanding this talent base would be worth it and how this would change his business. Mr Minh is a true artist that values the artistic contribution that each piece makes to the name and reputation of the company. But, he must also consider the full costs of training, developing and potentially losing the talented artists.