At the cutting edge

It’s just over a decade since international personal grooming product corporation Wahl established a manufacturing operation in Vietnam and its timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

For a start, the self-care and hair styling industry is enjoying an unparalleled boom as the increasingly affluent middle classes and young adults embrace electric clippers, razors and trimmers like never before.

The growth is fueled by an explosion in the variety of personal and professional grooming, which has become culturally more accepted and is expected to grow in value by 10 percent a year until the end of the decade. Rapid urbanization has also increased the number of young professionals in environments where they are expected to be clean shaven every day or have neatly trimmed facial hair.

But the even more significant trend among multinational companies – including the United States-based Wahl itself – of shifting manufacturing to South-East Asian countries has put Wahl Vietnam on an upward trajectory that’s getting steeper by the year.

“As Vietnam has transformed its policies to be pro-manufacturing, it has become visible as an effective relocation destination for companies looking for expansion,” says David Damzen, Senior Operations Manager at Wahl Vietnam.

Leaner business strategies

Damzen, who joined the company as CI and CAPEX Manager in May 2022 and was promoted to his current role in January 2024, is steering the transformation that will gear up the business for its enhanced role.

“We commit to bringing products of the highest quality and safety standards to our customers. We’re currently focusing on localizing all the components we currently import,” he says.

“And that will require us to move from traditional manufacturing to a more efficient, leaner set up, which is a big leap. It will minimize operational losses and allow us to expand our product portfolio.”

The approach will optimize production but presents its own set of hurdles to overcome.

“The biggest challenge we face now is the shortage of skilled labor,” he says.

“With Vietnam emerging as a key manufacturing hub in South-East Asia, the competition for talent has intensified. The standard of living is rising and so are the expectations of the workforce, leading to high volatility in the market.”

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“Quality and speed are key success factors for Group Intellect Power Technology to grow together with Wahl Vietnam. With our global sales and technical supports, we offer a boundary-less and language-barrier-free gateway to our Vietnam factories.” – Daniel Ma, CEO, Group Intellect Power Technology Group

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This volatility is exacerbated by the fact that workers frequently change jobs for even a slight increase in pay, taking their skills and knowledge with them. To combat this, Damzen has implemented several strategies to retain his most valued workers, including air conditioning and extensive training programs, particularly in the new skills needed for digitalization.

“Automation is no longer confined to the automotive industry; it’s accessible to all. We’re exploring automation solutions, which run in collaboration with operators to make their work effortless. This reduces our dependency on human labor, enabling us to meet the growing customer demand for higher-quality products,” he explains.

“It’s a move from a push-based manufacturing system, where the goods are produced and pushed to market, to pull-based thinking, where we only produce what’s needed and increase margins without raising costs.”

Dynamic culture

Another cornerstone of the company’s strategy is building robust and mutually beneficial relationships with key partners such as electronics manufacturer, Group Intellect Power Technology, to help them optimize their operations.

“Expanding our product portfolio requires us to extend our knowledge to our suppliers so they, too, can expand their capabilities. It’s not just about output; it’s about aligning their processes with our expectations,” Damzen explains.

And that involves building a dynamic, collaborative internal culture.

“I strongly believe in involving people in decision-making, even if they think an idea they’ve had is insignificant. So many times, what initially appears trivial ends up making a big difference. After all, our success lies in leveraging best practice and applying it effectively,” he says.

“It’s not about reinventing the wheel, but about finding the right paths to move forward. I don’t want people to follow my vision blindly; I want them to have the freedom to make their own decisions and take responsibility for them.

“Effective collaboration is about listening to as many opinions from as many people as possible.”

It’s a philosophy set to make Wahl’s second decade in Vietnam run as smoothly as the cut from one of its Vanish Lithium-Ion shavers.