Wikipedia

Dang Le Nguyen Vu

Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ (born February 10, 1971), better known as Chairman Vu, is a Vietnamese entrepreneur and businessman. He is the co-founder (along with former spouse Lê Hoàng Diệp Thảo),[1] president and general director of Trung Nguyên Group. He has been described by National Geographic[2] and Forbes as "Zero to Hero", "Vietnam Coffee King" and "Philosopher-King".[3][4][5] He is also an activist and philanthropist.[6]

Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ
Born (1971-02-10) February 10, 1971 (age 53)
Ninh Hòa, Khánh Hòa, South Vietnam
Other namesChairman Vu, Qua Vu
OccupationPresident of the Trung Nguyen coffee company
Years active1997–present
Spouse
Lê Hoàng Diệp Thảo
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2021)​
Children4
Chairman Vu beside his Akhal-Teke horse in 2012

Early life and background

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Vũ was born on 10 February 1971 in Ninh Hòa, Khánh Hoà, into a poor peasant family. In 1979, his family moved to M'Đrăk District, central western Vietnam province of Dak Lak.[7] In 1990, he went to Tay Nguyen University (literally 'Western Highland' University). During that time, he began to study and research coffee, eventually consulting with his future spouse Thảo, a post office information service worker with deep knowledge of the industry. In 1996, he and Thảo co-founded the Trung Nguyen Coffee Company in the city of Buon Ma Thuot.[8]

In 1998, Trung Nguyen opened its first cafe space in Phu Nhuan district, Ho Chi Minh City, expanding its business operation under a franchising model that was "revolutionary at the time".[9] Since that time, several coffee house franchises have launched nationwide.[10][11][12] From 2003, due to the rapid development of its instant coffee brand G7, Trung Nguyen led Vietnam's coffee market for around a decade.[13] In that year, Trung Nguyen's G7 coffee took the largest slice of the domestic market, with a "38 per cent share for 9 years", according to an AC Nielsen 2012 survey. G7 was pronounced the most preferred instant coffee product over Nestlé in a 2003 blind test, which is often cited as "an example of 'David' against 'Goliath'",[14] [15][16][17] in which participants voted in high numbers for the G7 product as recorded by the press and observers. Nielsen data showed the product had become the 'top trending brand in the local 3-in-1 coffee market segment in 2003–2012 in terms of market-share, revenue, and sales volume'.[18][19][20]

In August 2012, Forbes called Vu 'Vietnam's Coffee King'.[21] From that time onward he was frequently referred to as the 'King of Coffee' by the press.[22][23][24] In October 2012, he was named 'Pioneer of the Year' in a public vote by VNExpress readers.[25][26] In March 2013, he was granted the title of 'Forever worthy of the descendants of Lạc Hồng' in 'The Divine Root 2014' program held by the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education, the Club of Patriotic Businesses of Vietnam, and the Society of Historical Science of Vietnam.[27]

Dang is widely known for his spiritual beliefs. He is the founder of his own transcendental "Doctrine of Coffee"[28] whereby he has developed a spiritual philosophy and zen practice named 'Coffeeism' (Coffee Tao or Coffee Ceremony), including 'Coffee Zen'. It is described as an 'all-comprehensive, all-dimensional, all-global', 'holofractal' approach to healing, success, fortune, well-being and enlightenment; in which "Coffee is the 'Treasure of Earth and Heaven', Heritage of Humankind and Solution to the Future".[29]

In late 2014, Dang and 18 fellow men went on a 49-day fasting and Zen journey.[30]

He has been called "frank but pretty unfriendly" in some remarks concerning Starbucks coffee.[31]

Beside his success in the coffee business, he also has a passion for cars. His car collection, the biggest in Vietnam, has now grown close to 100 cars, valued at more than 1 trillion VND (approx. 40.31 million US Dollars). He also owns the biggest collection of Ferraris in the country, with 10 cars.[32]. Notable cars in his collection include: Bugatti Veyron (only one in the country), McLaren Senna, Porsche 918 Spyder, Toyota GR Supra, Ford GT, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Final Edition, Aston Martin DBX707 among many other names.[33]

Divorce

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Following Vu's first 49-day meditation session in 2013, his marital relationship with Lê Hoàng Diệp Thảo unraveled and the pair separated, his wife concerned that Vu had been mentally damaged by the meditation experience.[34] As both husband and wife were heavily involved in the Trung Nguyen business, their breakup had a strongly negative impact on the company, with the firm's export business suffering from neglect in particular.[35] In 2014, Thảo was stripped of her management rights and barred access to the company despite still holding legal ownership rights to the firm.[36]

The pair entered into lengthy divorce proceedings that became a notable scandal in the Vietnamese press. The divorce remained unsettled until a 2021 final court ruling granted Vu the rights to retain management of Trung Nguyen Group.[37]

In 2015, Thảo moved to “preserve the Trung Nguyen brand” and continue her efforts to distribute Vietnamese coffee products globally through the establishment of TNI King Coffee, which effectively competes with Trung Nguyen.[38] While King Coffee has expanded its distribution to more than 120 countries, Trung Nguyen's profit margins have declined under Vu's independent management.[39]

Honours and awards

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On 27 April 2011, the brandname "Trung Nguyen Coffee" appeared in the Financial Times[40] as a major case study on a successful enterprise model in which the company was voted as one of the most prevailing organizations.

In 2012, Dang was honoured as 'Coffee King', officially, by National Geographic.[41]

In August 2012, Forbes magazine portrayed him as 'Vietnam coffee king',[42] and described him as a figure of "Zero to Hero". Since then, local and world press and society has mentioned him as the Coffee King.[43]

In October 2012, he was selected as a 'Pioneer of the Year' in a public vote by VnExpress readers.[44] The vote's introduction reads "Chairman Vu who has been titled as 'Vietnamese Coffee King' has 'belled the cat' in developing franchising model in Vietnam".[45]

  • The Prize of “The Gold Star of the Vietnamese Top Brands in 2003”.[46]
  • ASEAN's young Entrepreneur Award[47][48]

References

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  1. ^ "Le Hoang Diep Thao, the Coffee Queen of Vietnam, exits the scene". Comunicaffe International. Comunicaffè. 2020-02-19. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  2. ^ "My time with Coffee King of Vietnam". 21 February 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Chairman Vu, Vietnam's Coffee King". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  4. ^ "Vietnam's coffee plan: the next prestige global brand". Reuters. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 4 Jan 2016.
  5. ^ "Dang Le Nguyen Vu, Zero to Hero". 22 February 2015. Retrieved 4 Jan 2016.
  6. ^ "Incredible dream of coffee by Chairman Vu". 4 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  7. ^ "Reference information about Chairman Vu". Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  8. ^ Khanh, Anh. "20 năm đưa cà phê Việt ra thế giới của bà Lê Hoàng Diệp Thảo". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). VN Express. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Case study: Trung Nguyên Coffee". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Trung Nguyen sets goal: World's largest coffee producer". Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. ^ "G7 takes lead in Vietnam instant coffee market". Hanoitimes. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Chairman Vu, a successful entrepreneur in Doi Moi (Renovation Policy) Period". Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. ^ "G7 takes lead the major market". Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  14. ^ "The war between G7 and 100-year-old Nestlé". VietNamNet Bridge. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Trung Nguyen G7 Instant Coffee celebrates ninth birthday". Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Why the marketplace winning" (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  17. ^ "The little 'David' to mark 9th year" (in Vietnamese). Diễn đàn Doanh nghiệp - Enterprises Forum Newspaper. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Trung Nguyen's G7 Instant Coffee celebrates 9th birthday". Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Trung Nguyen obeyed the law for the case". Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Lawyers unlock the case insight legally". 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Chairman Vu, Vietnam's Coffee King". Forbes. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Chairman Vu, from Zero to Hero". Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  23. ^ "Depart to Buon Me Thuot, coffee with Dang Le Nguyen Vu". Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  24. ^ "Vietnam's coffee plan: the next prestige global brand" (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 4 Jan 2016.
  25. ^ "VNExpress big vote". vnExpress.vn. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  26. ^ Seven initiatives for the global coffee industry
  27. ^ "SGGP Online- Ông Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ được trao tặng danh hiệu "Xứng danh con cháu Lạc Hồng"". Archived from the original on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  28. ^ "Coffee with Coffee King". Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  29. ^ "'Ở Việt Nam chỉ cần 100 người như Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ là được'". 26 September 2013.
  30. ^ "What did Chairman Vu look for in holofractal Coffee Zen during 49 days on mountain". Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  31. ^ "Vietnam's coffee plan: the next prestige global brand". Retrieved 4 Jan 2016.
  32. ^ "The Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve". Retrieved 27 Oct 2024.
  33. ^ "Ông Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ đã chi hàng trăm tỷ mua siêu xe trong năm nay". 2 October 2022.
  34. ^ Nguyễn, Trung (2019-03-23). "Doanh nhân Lê Hoàng Diệp Thảo: "Đành lòng chia tay nhưng tình nghĩa sẽ ở lại"". Báo Pháp luật Việt Nam (in Vietnamese). Pháp luật Việt Nam. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  35. ^ Nguyen, Lan Anh. "Estranged Wife Has Her Own Coffee King in Vietnam". Forbes. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  36. ^ "Bà Lê Hoàng Diệp Thảo: Tôi phải mạnh mẽ mới cứu được Trung Nguyên, cứu được anh Vũ". VietNamNet (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  37. ^ Hai, Duyen. "Final settlement in coffee royalty divorce after six years - VnExpress International". VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  38. ^ Le, Lam; Nguyen, Nguyen. "Divorce of Vietnam's coffee royalty gives rise to a new 'king' - VnExpress International". VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  39. ^ Tong, Van (2021-05-25). "Vietnam's TNI King Coffee makes US debut". Inside Retail. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  40. ^ "Case study: Trung Nguyên Coffee". Financial Times. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  41. ^ Katherine Karnow (21 February 2012). "My Time with the Coffee King of Vietnam". Intelligent Travel, National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  42. ^ Scott Duke Harris. "Chairman Vu, Vietnam's Coffee King". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  43. ^ "Đặng Lê Nguyên Vũ - Vua Cà phê 'zero to hero'" (in Vietnamese). 11 December 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  44. ^ "Nguoi Tien Phong, Tin nhanh VnExpress" (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  45. ^ "Nguoi Tien Phong, Tin nhanh VnExpress". October 2012. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  46. ^ "Vietnam Gold Stars". Baodautu. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  47. ^ "The Best of Asean". Người Lao Động. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 5 Sep 2016.
  48. ^ "Vietnamese Businessman receives ASEAN Award". Vietnam News Agency. 12 October 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
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