How Women Create Their Own Online Marketplace in Vietnam

In the battle for the Vietnamese e-commerce space, a unique online retailing model is being born out of an unexpected place. I sat down with James Vuong, the CEO of Project Lana, to talk about the once-stealth project that recently released two websites in the vertical e-commerce space in Vietnam:

• Be Yeu – Carries everything moms and mom-to-be need to care for their babies
• Lam Dieu – Offers a variety of beauty and skincare products, in addition to beauty trends and tips

What makes these two websites remarkable is the community that they spring out of. The concept of Project Lana, James explained, came out of Web Tre Tho, the number one forum for Vietnamese women, who joined to share their stories and advice on a variety of topics: what to expect during first trimester of pregnancy, which baby formula to use, how to keep passion alive in marriage, how to stay pretty with a tight family budget, where to send your kids to school, etc.

As James learned more about the community, he felt inspired and started Project Lana to provide more products and services like WebTreTho to serve women in Vietnam. He recalled:

Over the years, the community got bigger in number, yet the conversation got increasingly personal. Mothers would post very intimate details of their lives and the community would come together to help or give input. […] A long-time Web Tre Tho member and a single mom got into a traffic accident and was severely injured. She went through six surgeries and was told by the doctor that her leg would be amputated in the seventh surgery. Desperate and alone, she turned to the Web Tre Tho community to share her feelings and her story.The community came together, cheered her up, visited her at the hospital, and even recommended her to see a new doctor before the surgery. She went to see the new doctor who told her that alternative treatment existed and she could still keep her leg.

That’s exactly what Project Lana is all about. Their mission is to "deliver happiness to women,” and these three websites, stand at the vanguard of this goal. James adds:

With one million active users and over four million unique users per month, it’s a huge and active community. We saw a great opportunity there. Vietnamese women are the decision makers in the majority of family purchasing decisions; yet, technologists in Vietnam are still oblivious to what women need. This is where Project Lana comes in.

Letting people choose

Users also get a say in the two e-commerce sites’ product line-up, content, and customer service. James explains: