BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES



FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Subject: ENGLISH IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Semester I – School year: 2021-2022

Full name: LÊ THỊ NGỌC MAI

Class: ENB301_211_D02 Student ID: 030434180104
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Replace the word in red with your answer.

A. NEWS ARTICLE
Link "HCMC restaurants, coffee chains struggle to reopen - VnExpress ...." 11.10. 2021,
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/hcmc-restaurants-coffee-chains-struggle-to-reopen-
4369347.html
Content HCMC restaurants, coffee chains struggle to reopen
By Dat Nguyen, Ha Mai October 11, 2021 | 07:29 am GMT+7

An employee prepares deliveries at restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Sept. 10, 2021. Photo by
VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Immediately after HCMC lifted its lockdown this month, beverage chain The Coffee House introduced
Fresh Bottle, a new glass bottle designed for easy delivery of its best-selling drinks.
This and other delivery-friendly products such as instant coffee and canned drinks are the solutions
the company came up with to "survive and overcome difficulties," CEO Le Ba Nam Anh told VnExpress
International.
"We have reopened 40 percent of stores in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hai
Phong, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, but we have yet to reach pre-pandemic capacity due to social distancing
in each city."
He still has to pay rents, salaries and for ingredients because everything was ordered two quarters in
advance, and the cash flow imbalance is a big challenge, he added.
HCMC began allowing businesses to reopen on Oct. 1 after four months of lockdowns, but coffee
chains and restaurants are still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels of business due to a
difficulty in hiring people and people’s reluctance to spend.
The city has allowed eateries to resume delivery services from Sept. 8 after suspending them for
nearly two months.

Shippers wait to pick up orders at a coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 16, 2021. Photo by
VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Pho 79, a high-end Vietnamese-style restaurant chain, plans to function at 15 percent capacity starting
on Oct. 15 as it expects demand to be low.
"Over 70 percent of our employees have left for their hometowns," Huynh Huu Thanh Phuong,
chairman of the chain, said.
"We do not have enough ingredients [for cooking], and demand has been falling".
Phuong plans to increase to 30-50 percent capacity before year-end, but expects revenues for the
whole year to be 70 percent down from last year.
"We are waiting for authorities to lift more restrictions. We are also concerned about the possibility of
another resurgence [in Covid-19]."
Other restaurants are unsure whether it is even the right time to reopen.
"It’s bad to remain closed, but it’s hard to reopen as the more we sell the more we lose," Ly Nhat Hieu,
owner of three high-end restaurants, said.
He has been waiting for the city to reopen since closing for five months has cost him nearly VND2
billion ($86,206).
But a shortage of employees makes it difficult for him to restart now: many have left for their
hometowns, some have started their own eateries or work as delivery persons to make a living.
"It is hard to find people for difficult positions such as head chef and station chefs. It is not easy for
people to return to the city."
The food and beverage industry has been among the biggest victims of the fourth wave of Covid,
which began at the end of April.
With over 2,000 new cases found every day, the city continues to impose restrictions to prevent
another outbreak.
 But with over 70 percent of the adult population vaccinated, the highest rate in the country, industry
insiders have reason to expect that the difficulties will soon be over.
The Coffee House plans to build a new store model specializing in takeout and delivery in Ho Chi Minh
City, and plans to replicate this in other localities across the country next year.
"In the short term, there will be losses, but in the long term, we will have new growth pillars along
with the return of old ones."

B. OVERVIEW OF THE COOPERATION/COMPANY

The Coffee House is a Vietnamese coffeehouse chain, founded in 2014. It has over 100 stores across Vietnam that
serve over 40,000 customers per day. The former CEO, Nguyen Hai Ninh, announced that the ambition of the
company was to open as many as 700 outlets across Vietnam. When he began the business, Ninh dreamed of taking
Vietnamese coffee to the global market and supporting local coffee farmers. The chain has been known as a part of
the local Vietnamese coffee house brands. The Coffee House is not only a company that works in the F&B industry
but also a food and drink brand for humans. From the happiness of staff to the satisfaction of customers, The Coffee
House believes that only happiness can bring people together. In 2018, The Coffee House was the second largest
Vietnamese coffee chain market in terms of revenue. In 2019, the Coffee House’s revenue had an increase of nearly
30% compared to 2018, reaching 838 million VND.
[163 words].
C. DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, The Coffee House closed almost all of its stores throughout the country. In addition to
the cost of space and personnel, the raw materials still have to be paid to the supplier even when they are not in
use because everything has been ordered and planned 2 quarters in advance, so the cash flow imbalance is a big
challenge. In the new normal, The Coffee House is planning to reopen after four months of lockdown, but it is still
struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels of business because of the difficulty in hiring people and people’s
reluctance to spend. The Chairman calls a meeting to discuss and find solutions to this issue.
[116 words]
D. MEETING
Participan Speaker 1: Dinh Anh Huan, Chairman of The Coffee House
ts Speaker 2: Le Ba Nam Anh, CEO of The Coffee House
Speaker 3: Phu Vo, Marketing Director, Co-founder of The Coffee House

Purpose Discuss a plan to reopen the coffee chain including:

of • The number of stores reopening.
meeting • The Covid-19 preventive measures in the workplaces.
• A new product range suitable for takeout and delivery in the new normal situation.

Mode Face-to- face meeting

Script
(with Anh Huan: Good morning, everyone. 1Thank you for coming. 2We are here today to discuss
1
expressio plans to reopen the coffee chain after four months due to Covid-19. 3On the agenda,
ns you’ll see there are three items. The first is to talk about the number of stores
numbered reopening. Secondly, we will find the measures against Covid-19 in the workplaces.
and Finally, we’ll look at a new range of products to adapt to the new normal situation.
highlighte 4
I’d like to ask if anyone has any comments on these points before we start?
d)
Voice: No.

Anh Huan: Right, well, 5Can I hear from Nam Anh, Chief Executive, to open up with his remarks.

Nam Anh: Thank you, Anh Huan. Well, in my view, during the Covid-19 pandemic, we have to
face up to close nearly all of our stores throughout the country. I suggest that we
should reopen about 40 percent of stores in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh City,
Hanoi, Danang since ….

6
Phu Vo: What? That’s impossible! How about the remaining stores in other cities?
 7
Anh Huan: Sorry Mr. Phu Vo, let Mr. Nam Anh finish first. Mr. Nam Anh 8could you be more
specific?
Nam Anh: Due to the pandemic not being fully contained yet and the social distancing in each
city, as well as the labor shortage, we should slowly but surely return to normalcy.

Phu Vo: So 9what you are saying is that we reopen stores in big cities first, then the whole
coffee chain.

Nam Anh: Yeah, that’s what I mean.

Phu Vo: OK, I got it.

Anh Huan: Right, 10let’s move on to the next point. Can we talk about the Covid-19 preventive
measures in the stores?

Phu Vo: Well, 11it seems to me that if we reopen, the stores would have to change models
and functions to meet the new requirements such as the three-on-the-spot model. I
think that a part of the store could turn into workers accommodation during a
pandemic. 12What’s your opinion on this?

Nam Anh: Er, 13I’m not quite agree with you there. The three-on-the-spot production model
may cost us a lot. You know, the costs for workers’ accommodation, transport and
dining can be beyond our financial resources and outweigh business efficiency. Also,
in fact, many workplaces have become new pandemic clusters by accommodating
many people inside a narrow space for many days on end.

14
Anh Huan: I agree with Mr. Nam Anh. This model may be not necessary in localities with high
vaccination rates. Besides, the employees in stores are fully vaccinated and strictly
follow the 5K message in our stores to ensure safe and flexible adaptation in the
new normal.

Phu Vo: Hmm. 15Can you explain-say exactly what sort of detail you think we need?

Anh Huan: Well, 16what I mean is that employees and customers are required to wear face
masks, wash hands with hand sanitizers, keep distance from each other, and scan
QR codes to make health declarations before entering the coffee shops.
We also limit the number of dine-in customers to half our maximum capacity on the
condition that they are all vaccinated.

Phu Vo: Yeah, I got your point.

Anh Huan: Right. Now, 17 Can we go on to think about a new product range?
You know, since the outbreak resurfaced in late April, customers preferred coffee
takeaway rather than traditional coffee in stores.

Phu Vo: Yeah, The Coffee House really focused on developing the customer experience. So,
the marketing team is preparing to introduce Fresh Bottle, a new glass bottle
designed for easy takeout and delivery of our best-selling drinks.

Nam Anh: It’s a great idea. I think this and other delivery-friendly products such as instant
coffee and canned drinks are the solutions the company came up with to overcome
difficulties.

Phu Vo That’s right. Because this kind of products has a variety of advantages, including low
investment, simple operations and fast profit.
 Anh Huan: Okay. 18I think we’ve covered everything. First, we will open 40% of stores in big
cities. Second, the coffee chain strictly complies with Covid-19 preventive measures
in doing business. Finally, we will launch the new delivery-friendly products. 19 Does
anyone have anything to add to that?

Phu Vo and No.

Anh Huan
Anh Huan: Okay. 20That’s all for today. Thank you.

[713 words]