Retailers cut prices ahead of holiday
HCM CITY (VNS) — Retailers in HCM City are offering discounts of up to 80 per cent to stimulate sales before and during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which begins on February 10.
Many clothing stores on the city's main streets, such as Le Van Sy, Cach Mang Thang Tam, Nguyen Trai and Hai Ba Trung, are selling items at discounts of up to 50 per cent, including well-known Vietnamese brandnames like Blue Exchange and Viet Thy.
The trend has spread to the city's major shopping centres, including Sai Gon Square, Diamond Plaza and Zen Plaza. In some centres, discounts have reached 80 per cent.
Sellers said the end of the year was the best time for promotions as many people buy new clothes at Tet.
In the run-up to Tet, purchases often rise by 70-80 per cent as sellers deeply discount goods in an aim to increase profits as well as reduce inventory.
Electronic centres and shops, which have had sluggish sales for several months, are also rushing to attract customers by offering many promotions.
The Cho Lon Electronic Supermarket has discounted prices on thousands of products, and the Thien Hoa Centre has cut prices on about 100,000 products. Discounts at the latter have totalled nearly VND20 billion (US$952,000).
Locally-made goods
This year, domestic companies have offered many high-quality products at low prices, and have strengthened their distribution systems by directly bringing products to traditional markets, trade centres and supermarkets.
As a result, sales have increased for made-in-Viet Nam products, especially for fashion, food and confectionery items.
Thanh Thuy, a housewife in District 3, said that she had chosen many Vietnamese products because the design and quality had improved. Product safety was also better, she added.
With more sales from local customers, many companies have been able to develop their products and overcome business challenges.
For example, in 2011, the Sai Gon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Sai Gon Co-op) earned more than VND14 trillion, while the figure rose to VND17.8 trillion last year.
Ninety per cent of products sold at Sai Gon Co-Op market are now made in Viet Nam.
To further assist local companies, experts have asked local authorities to limit and strictly control low-quality or unsafe imported products. —VNS