Vinschool: The Triumphs and Challenges of Scaling Vingroup’s Not-For-Profit School

What does it take to set up the next level of schools that encourages academic excellence at an international level in a developing country? How should the school brand itself to communicate that commitment to excellence to prospective students’ parents? How can a school provide that level of academic excellence at an affordable cost to the middle-income segment? What are the levers that it can use to scale its school locations over the country?

In September 2019, Phan Hu Thuy, CEO of Vinschool, contemplated the above questions as she addressed the managing committee of Vinschool. Thuy had a daunting target ahead of her – to expand Vinschool to double its existing size in a period of five years.

Vinschool was established in 2013 in Vietnam, as a directive of Vingroup, to provide schooling facilities for children residing at the Vinhomes real estate complexes built by the group. The school had expanded rapidly, growing from one campus to 31 campuses with over 27,000 students, by 2019. Operating as a not-for-profit entity, Vinschool delivered international standard education to its students, amidst an increasingly competitive private school education market served by a limited resource pool.
The challenge was clear: Vinschool had to provide an excellent academic experience with limited resources, and at the same time, focus on uniformity of quality as it established new campuses. How could Vinschool expand holistically? How could Vinschool stay ahead of the competition? Could the school expand its potential consumer market segment? How could the school make it's brand more compelling?

This case will help students learn about concepts related to brand conceptualisation in the context of educational institutions, the importance of brand in scaling an organisation and value proposition in a brand’s positioning strategy. Students will also learn about the significance of digital technologies in modern-day education, and in scaling an organisation with limited resources. Central to the case are the tensions related to the push and pull of scaling an educational organisation that needs to maintain its attractiveness and quality amidst an increasingly competitive environment.

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