For a nation, where digital direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is still new, Fluxmall is slowly but steadily leaving its mark. In an exclusive tête-à-tête with Apparel Resources, Dmitry Sarbaev, Managing Director, Fluxmall DTG, discussed about DTG printing and also about the huge opportunities prevalent in Vietnam.
“When it comes to creativity, Vietnam is catching up, but there is lot of young talent and good potential available in the country and that’s why we love being here,” averred Dmitry, each word of his reflecting passion for work.
Fluxmall DTG, a company that specialises in digital DTG printing, has already taken the initiative by organising a series of workshops in Vietnam. The first of the year took place in Hanoi on 15 March 2019, where the core focus was on practical skills for operating profitable and efficient direct to garment printing companies. Besides, Fluxmall ensured that the industry got the best of the DTG printing knowledge by addressing wide range of industry topics ,like Which is the best DTG printer?; How to run business in DTG successfully? etc. Their events have virtually been a storehouse that offers various DTG solutions fitting the Vietnamese market in the best possible way.
Corroborating further, Dmitry said, “This was our first effort across Vietnam not only to educate the younger generation in universities, but also to run events with private invitations to both local printing experts and regional OEMs.”
He believes that his talk at the recently concluded Asia Print Expo was partially targeted to encouraging OEMs, dealers and end-users to work closely together, so that this industry will have quality growth, and people will get enriching DTG experience and faster return on investment (RoI) in their business. “At Hanoi, we not only told them how they could make money after having their DTG solution up and running, but also demonstrated these solutions and allowed the participants have hands-on experience with them,” added Dmitry.
One of the major attractions of the event was the successful launching of Polyprint Texjet Echo2, which is the first unit in the entire region. While on one hand, Fluxmall yet again brought the industry people together on same platform, on the other hand it ensured that everyone in the industry knew about this new product. “The machine was very well received. People admit that it has lowest RCPP (real cost per print) in the market, and a high quality of printing. Next to that, the participants also named it as a good fit for the entry-level DTG solution, whereas high-volume production has slightly different demand, when it comes to speed and ability to print a wider range of materials,” substantiated Dmitry.
The event that followed in Ho Chi Minh City too repeated the success of Hanoi. Among the participants were people from ADS Vietnam Design Institute in addition to several people from the printing industry, including OEMS, T-shirt manufacturers and local fashion brands. “Yes the event at Ho Chi Minh City too was a success. Yet again Polyprint Texjet Echo2 received great response and there was excitement among the visitors to know more about the product,” said Dmitry.
Fluxmall has always been proactive in bringing out the best of technology and innovation in DTG to the apparel industry in Vietnam and it was no different this time too. Using world class state-of-the-art technology and some of the best machineries and software available globally, Fluxmall has been striving – and succeeding – to provide matchless quality in Vietnam. The erstwhile Russian-based company believes that providing the best quality not only helps them meet, but also exceed the demands of the customers.
The companies that already have DTG machines or doing any kind of printing were there at the event in addition to good participation from factories, print shops and local fashion brands. There were also sellers on the American fulfilment websites present, as well as teams that work on fulfilment platforms in Vietnam. Dmitry, who relocated to Vietnam from Moscow in 2014, feels that organising such workshops regularly helps Fluxmall enhance the educational impact and deliver complete DTG knowledge to industry professionals across Vietnam.
Talking about expansion, Fluxmall has gradually realised that their growth should go beyond Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and reach other parts of Vietnam as well. The company’s endeavour to reach universities and work with several bigger factories is slowly reaping dividends. Last year too, the company conducted some workshops in universities and got very good response from students. They have been successful in their objective of bringing machines to the universities and making them aware of the technology, and 2019 events have further taken the efforts to a different level. “Exposing the students to technology and making them understand every aspect of it is our long-term perspective. It may take 2 to 3 years, but it will happen,” stated Dmitry with conviction.
With esteemed clients like GẤU Uniform, Un-Available, Sparx and Highground Project, the company is also now expanding into distribution for all their brands. And, this has been helping them enhance their service. “We are printers first and therefore we know what kind of machines and software are needed by the customers. This helps us to get into the market and search for solutions for them. This is the reason we want to grow big in distribution,” said Dmitry, while explaining why distribution could be the core area of focus for Fluxmall in 2019 and coming years.
In its bid to expand its already wide global network of local distributors, Polyprint, the pioneer in digital textile printing, recently recognised Fluxmall DTG as its authorised dealer in Vietnam. The Greece-based Polyprint, with this partnership, hopes to introduce its products and services into a fast emerging market like Vietnam. The agreement was signed in November 2018 at Polyprint headquarters in Greece in the presence of George Beglopoulos, General Director, Polyprint; Dmitry Sarbaev and other officials. This agreement will go a long way in not only developing digital textile printing in the Asia Pacific region but also in merging Eastern market with Western technologies.
2019 has now begun with Fluxmall taking the first steps of fulfilling the commitment of officially providing Polyprint’s TexJet series, DTG printers, accessories, inks and consumables and supportive machinery such as pretreaters and heat presses; success of the event has been a distinct justification. The company is today one of the leaders in DTG printing in Vietnam. Dmitry feels though there are quite a few DTG printers in the country, none of them can match Fluxmall in quality or service.
The company has also lately managed to create a niche among the expatriates in Vietnam that mainly consists of people from USA and Europe and who are keen to know and utilise the service. Their ideas and experience have been instrumental in propelling the growth of Fluxmall in the country. With their European approach, technology and experience, Fluxmall has managed to increase lot of foreign customers; however the company is now keen to enhance its local customer base.
Going forward, Fluxmall plans to organise more workshops, events and demonstrations of equipment in its bid to expand its reach. This apart, there are also efforts to conduct specialised DTG conferences in Vietnam, more on the lines of FESPA conference. “Organising specialised DTG conferences in Vietnam is bound to attract people from overseas and there is nothing bigger than bringing their knowledge here. I want to hit the target of one major event per month by the end of 2019, whereas smaller on-site printings could be organised in coffee shops as well. There is something exciting happening in our industry here in Vietnam, and we look forward to helping build solid DTG businesses here. I am also excited to see the growing interest from our wide supplier network and the desire to have joint efforts in pushing this further. We will see some bigger events as well this year with on-site printing,” concluded Dmitry.
