Luxury Boutique strategy and new position of SonKim Land

2018 is a “big jump” of SonKim Land through the Interview with CEO, Mr. Andy Han Suk Jung

You have successfully managed SKL in its high-end residential businesses such as The Nassim, Gateway and super luxury SSV projects. Now that you are promoted to take on a more senior position – SKL CEO – with additional responsibilities for the Group Commercial sector and back offices, can you please share with us your new vision and any challenges that you may face?

I began the role of COO when I first came to SKL three years ago. This role allowed me to prepare and train myself for the CEO position. Having achieved great success with all three residential projects , my vision for the company is to ensure that we deliver the trust of building dream homes to all of our buyers. All three projects will begin hand-over to buyers this year, and buyers will finally understand the value we have put in our projects.

As CEO of SonKim Land, I will continue to pursue the Luxury Boutique strategy on a larger scale, not limited to residential projects as before. My target is to transform SonKim Land into the leading property developer for the luxury real estate market in Vietnam.

What elements do you believe can make SKL business successful?

I believe some of the keys to our success are 1) keeping the fundamentals with no compromising, 2) devotion to the quality, 3) unique design, and 4) providing a wonderful living experience. I believe that our design, location, attention to quality and management dedications set us apart from other competitors. These are our core strengths and therefore, we target those customers to whom those values matter the most. Due to our strategy, our customer profiles are very high and quite different than others, and as a result, we have less than 1% overdue payments at any given time for all of our residential projects.

How can SonKim Land meet these strict requirements?

Understanding that SKL’s objective is maintaining the highest standards in quality, we have established a group of outstanding contractors that can consistently project this level of quality to our projects. SKL does not leave the construction work to one main contractor but nominate quality suppliers and contractors to work with the Main Contractor. Although as developers, we are required to pay extra costs for construction management and other overheads; therefore, we assign work to industry leaders to produce highest quality. Thanks to them, we can maintain the highest level of finishing works in our projects which forms integral part of SKL’s success.

Being transparent and having a trusted local partner allow us to work with global leaders in the region to jointly develop projects. The team of international and local management with strict complying of rules and regulations distinguishes SKL from other local developers in terms of having international experiences and exposure for successful partnerships.

Can you share more information about the new luxury residential projects?

We will deploy at least two new projects on the Thu Thiem peninsula, including a villa townhouse project anda mixed-use commercial and residential. Staying in line with the principles of Luxury Boutique strategy, the projects will be in a prime locations. The design will remain as unique as the project that SonKim Land has deployed. In particular, we will focus on the international standard of space, comfort and security for both projects.

Recently you have expanded your business into F&B and Convenience stores. Can you tell us more about your plan in the Commercial Sector?

This year we plan to start several hotel & resort projects, and we are looking to have our restaurants inside our properties to maximize our revenue. For our convenience store businesses, we are looking to penetrate this exciting market and we will have some stores located in our commercial and residential projects to maximize the synergy effect.

Our partners for both F&B & Convenience businesses are top leaders in the market; Pourcel from France, and GS Retail from Korea with GS25 brand. As far as the retail market is concerned, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing market in the world now. We are dedicated to providing services and gastronomic experiences that you cannot get elsewhere.

The current situation of high-end real estate in VN now is that it is rapidly changing. As a developer, how do you respond to this rapid, and often unpredictable changes?

Top management of SKL spends a lot of time visiting and studying hot-selling projects overseas to learn the latest trends. Also, with the evolution of IT technologies, we are preparing to apply many IT solutions to our projects that can enhance the lives of our residents.

Although some newest trends may change rapidly, the core fundamental of building a sustaining and value-added house does not change. As a matter of fact, new technology and trends will make human beings work less in the office but spend more time at home. There are so many companies around the world beginning a 4-day work week and 5-hour workday which in turn will increase the time spent at home. Many people are also using their house as a place to work, so the boundaries between home and office are dissolving. This is the strong basis of why SKL is determined to stick with the fundamental of building a cozy project, so our buyers and residents would want to spend more time and enjoy the living experience at home.

What did your previous experience in Korea mean for your work at SonKim Land and Vietnam?

Coming from a family-owned construction business in Korea, I was always taught that buildings are built for long lasting, and therefore we should endeavor to ensure safe, convenient, and happy living spaces for customers. I am very proud to mention that all our residential projects were built based on those three principles.

Now that we will start to hand – over our residential projects to customers, we hope to receive the recognition from those who live in our projects which will be the highest award that a developer can receive.