Trade centres–new take on the traditional market for small merchants?

Three modern trade centres went into operation last week in HCM City. Mirae on To Hien Thanh street, Anh Linh Plaza and Maximark Plaza on Ba Thang Hai street provide 35,000 square metres of new retail premises. The special aspect of the three new trade centres is that they are reserved for small merchants, and not for upscale vendors of famous brands.

Small merchants like the new trade centres

Unlike many shopping malls already operating, the three new trade centres do not require retailers to sell luxury products. They welcome all retailers, including those whose wares do not include well known brands.

Anh Linh Plaza was fully rented just 10 days after it began leasing space. Mirae Centre has no idle seats either, while Maximark Plaza has been 99 percent occupied.

Prior to that, four ‘modern markets’ in HCM City, including An Dong Plaza, Saigon Square 1 and 2, and Master Zone, which have space for hundreds, even thousands of kiosks, have also been fully occupied. According to the market-oriented paper Saigon Tiep Thi, Tam Hoan Chau Trade Centre in District 1 will also be opened for small merchants before long.

Hang, the owner of the ZZ fashion kiosk at Anh Linh Plaza, said that setting up a kiosk in a trade centre is the best choice for small merchants like her. “I would have to spend a lot of money to set up a streetfront shop on streets,” Hang said. “Further, I don’t carry enough products to fill up a large retail location. I decided that a several square metre kiosk is just right for me.”

Thu, who has opened an import footwear shop at An Dong Plaza, related that she once leased a kiosk at the Saigon Tourist trade centre. Now, however, that trade centre has been restructured. “They told me that only products with globally famous brand names can be traded there now,” Thu said. “But not many Vietnamese or Chinese brand names are globally famous, are they? So I had to move. ”

Pham Viet Viet, the owner of Anh Linh Plaza, said that there’s big demand for kiosks by small and medium companies or individual small merchants. These sellers are ready to pay relatively high rents to lease kiosks, but the upscale, foreign goods-oriented trade centres do not allow them to trade there. Meanwhile, leasing retail shops in the central area is just too expensive.

Viet said that having realized there’s high demand for less-than-luxe retail premises, Anh Linh Company plans to open more retail centres for small merchants.

Costs are reasonable

Nguyen Anh Hong, the owner of Maximark said: “I know that our rents at Maximark are lower than the $100 to $200 per square meter per month that the fancy malls charge. They’re reasonable, I think, for loyal partners who have been close to Maximark since our first days of operation”.

Mirae pegs rents at $15-20 per square metre per month for kiosks above 25 square metres, and $25-40 per square metre for smaller kiosks. Anh Linh Plaza charges between $50 and $110 per square metre, and Maximark $15 to 65 per square metre.

Though the trade centres welcome applications by all small merchants, they are very selective in choosing the ones to whom they lease the kiosks.

“Foreign trade centres try to build up their reputations by only allowing high-end products at the centres. Meanwhile, Maximark tries to select retailers by considering the quality of products sold there,” said Hong from Maximark. “For example, I know that the quality of many made-in-Vietnam garments is very good and the products have been exported to many countries in the world. We’ll give priority to such goods, though the brands theselves are still not strong”.

Saigon tiep thi

Tags: Vietnam retail market, Vietnam trade centers