HÀ NỘI — Gold products were sold out at a number of stores amid a sharp increase in customers compared to previous days during the God of Wealth Day on Sunday.

Legend has it that the God of Wealth returns to heaven on the 10th day of the Lunar New Year, and so Vietnamese have a tradition of buying gold on that day to hope for good luck and prosperity throughout the year.

In addition to traditional products such as figurines representing the God of Wealth and those inscribed with the words Phúc (Happiness), Lộc (Prosperity), Tài (Wealth) and Thọ (Longevity), gold companies have also launched a variety of other items featuring images of the dog to mark the Year of the Dog.

On Trần Nhân Tông in Hà Nội, also known as Gold Street, the number of customers lining up in front of shops has kept increasing and products are in shot supply.

According to Lê Thị Hiển, deputy general director of Doji Jewellery JSC, the company had prepared a sufficient amount of gold products since the end of last year’s third quarter for the God of Wealth Day, especially those with symbols of dogs – the spiritual animal of the lunar new year – and others that represent happiness, prosperity, wealth and longevity for customers.

Golden dogs and other spiritual animal products proved popular and had sold out, especially those weighing one or two chỉ (3.75g each), she said.

“We have prepared around 250,000 products to serve customers during the God of Wealth Day, an increase of 30 per cent compared to the same day last year,” Hiển said.

By noon on Sunday, Doji had sold two-thirds of the total products and some shops have run out of supply, she said, adding that the company may have to produce more and ship gold products from other localities to Hà Nội to meet rising customers’ demand.

She said that the number of customers rose sharply as the God of Wealth Day took place during the three-day weekend this year, starting on Friday, and most customers were office employees, who would hope for a more prosperous and wealthier year.

Head of the business department at Bảo Tín Minh Châu Gold and Jewellery JSC, Nguyễn Thị Yến, said that the number of customers had rose 15-20 per cent year on year by noon on Sunday and by six to seven times compared to normal trading days.

Vice chairman of Phú Quý Group, Phạm Hải Âu, said that the company had increased its supply for the day by 70 per cent to meet the market demand and offered online and phone sales so that customers can easily purchase the company’s products.

High demand for gold products on the God of Wealth Day also pushed selling prices for gold upwards.

At Bảo Tín Minh Châu Gold and Jewellery JSC, the selling price of SJC gold peaked at VNĐ37.7 million (US$1,675) per tael (each tael is equal to 10 chỉ) early in the day, an increase of VNĐ40,000 compared to Saturday, and concluded at VNĐ37.4 million per tael at the end of the day.

At SJC Jewellery Company, the selling price of SJC gold was set at VNĐ37.05 million per tael early on Sunday morning. At Doji, SJC gold was initially sold at VNĐ37.36 million per tael and increased to VNĐ37.6 million per tael later. — VNS