HCM CITY – Wholesaler MM Mega Market Vietnam has unveiled plans to stock VND3 trillion worth of merchandise during Tết to meet customers’ demands for the 2018 Lunar New Year.

Nguyễn Vũ Thuận, its foods purchasing manager, said major distributors have this year placed strong emphasis on domestically made products, including processed foods, fresh foods, dried foodstuffs, home appliances, beverages and others to make sure there is no short supply or price surges.

MM has teamed up with manufacturers to offer various promotions between December and February with 15– 19 per cent discounts on over 15,000 goods through featured themes such as shopping for the new home, world of confectionery and so on in the lead-up to Tết.

An MM spokesperson said given that the consumer price index for January 2018 was up by only 2.65 per cent year-on-year and positive consumer sentiments, people are likely to spend more this Tết season, especially in the two weeks before the Lunar New Year. On the part of sellers, at this time of the year stocks are often maintained at steady levels to preclude any short supply, especially of fresh foods.

Thuân said: “As early as the beginning of October we had set in motion production plans with farmers to double output. And now with abundant supply and strict quality control from the seeding to harvesting stages, our vegetables from Đà Lạt, fish products from Cần Thơ and pork from Đồng Nai are readily available to meet the highest demand during the year.”

In addition to availability, prices are also a top concern for consumers. At MM this year there will be no price shocks as some of the merchandise is even cheaper than the previous years owing to collaborative promotion campaigns by MM and suppliers.

Products currently sold at highly competitive prices are basic foods, confectionery and others.

Phan Thanh Thảo, a resident of District 3 in HCM City, said: “This year Tet-specific confectionery products are coming in a wide variety, and with competition from domestic and foreign brands prices seem pretty steady. We also have more choices for the same amount of money.”

In this peak sales period, food safety is also a high priority at MM to make sure that safe products are sold to consumers.

To ensure the job is done, MM agricultural engineers and specialists work hand in hand with farmers to ensure supply of the highest possible quality of inputs.

Along with that, the company’s quality control team, in co-ordination with independent laboratories, also strengthen food quality assurance to ensure the products are as safe as possible during Tết.

Besides, MM has extended its daily working hours from 5am to 11 pm from February 6 to 18 to help customers shop at ease for Tết. — VNS