Retailers disappointed with low New Year sales

The long 3-day New Year holiday could not help retailers boost sales. Purchasing power was weak because of continued economic difficulties.

Only Ideas Nguyen Trai could attract many customers thanks to the big promotion programme

No long queues were seen at supermarket check-out counters. Fashion shops in HCM City were quiet, while parking lots at trade centres were not full as expected. Ngoc, the owner of a cosmetics shop at Ben Thanh Market complained: “Goods were unsellable even on the New Year holiday.”

Only essential goods sold

The number of visitors to Co-op Mart, Citimart and Maximark duringthe holiday was up just 20-30 percent. Foods for family parties sold on the weekend, while discounted goods still piled up on shelves.

At home appliance centres, there were more visitors than buyers, despite New Year promotions. A salesman at Thien Hoa Home Appliance Centre said that the number of visitors on the holiday was lower than a week ago.

Mobile phone supermarkets were crowded, but they came to declare personal information under the pre-paid subscriber management programme rather than to make purchases.

Why?

The New Year holiday is a time for people to go out rather than stay at home and hold family parties like the Tet holiday. Therefore, it is understandable why people went on outings rather than going to supermarkets.

“The number of visitors on the holiday was just a little higher than ordinary days. Maybe people used the long holiday to travel,” mused Ngo Van Hai, Deputy Director of Citimart.

A home appliance retailer also speculated that people had purchased what they need before the New Year holiday.

The owner of a fashion shop in HCM City decided to close early at 4 pm on January 1, 2010. “My loyal customers traveled abroad, while others do not go shopping; maybe they fear traffic jams,” he observed. “I decided to close the doors because there were no customers.”

Only restaurants and hotels like Majestic, Rex, Palace and Saigon Tourism Ship attracted double the number of usual customers. Lion, Palace, Oscar and Winsor restaurants, located along the roads linking to the festival places, also received many patrons for light meals and drinks. Restaurants outside the city centre reported a 20 percent increase in the number of customers.

Travel firms reported higher numbers of travelers, thanks to the longer holiday. Still, tourist sites were not overcrowded and travelers could book last-minute tickets.

Maximark Director Nguyen Phuong Thao said that retailers hope purchasing power will rise in the next month just before Tet. Sales may depend on the Tet bonuses that businesses give their staff.

VietNamNet/SGTT

Tags: Vietnam retail market