Finding a way out for traditional markets

The business atmosphere at many traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City is quite quiet; sellers outnumber buyers... is a common occurrence. Ho Chi Minh City has a plan to reduce the scale and upgrade the market to develop services and tourism, but the implementation is still struggling.

Invest billions, earn small profits

On weekends, the number of visitors to Ben Thanh Market (District 1) is quite large, but mainly tourists. Ms. T., the owner of a fruit and cake stall here, said that purchasing power has decreased by more than 50% after the Covid-19 pandemic. "Each stall in this market has been invested with billions of VND, but now it is literally... picking up small change, because customers are scarce. Even groups of familiar customers who specialize in ordering large quantities from provinces and cities have been interrupted for many reasons," Ms. T. said.

Binh Tay Market is deserted. Photo: HAI NGOC

Looking to buy goods in Binh Tay market (District 6), we noted that there were dozens of stalls closed, with signs for rent or transfer, concentrated in the clothing trading area. Ms. L., owner of stall number 895, informed that the number of customers coming to the market is very low, even fewer on weekends. “The shop is open from morning to afternoon with no customers. This situation has lasted since the beginning of the year. Now I will try my best, if the situation does not improve, I will probably stop selling,” Ms. L. shared.

Moving to the cosmetics business area, asking a vendor at Phuoc Vinh stall, the situation is similar. The owner of this stall said that currently, they mainly supply goods to customers who have been with them for many years, with almost no new customers. The group of old customers who have switched to buying online is also larger than before. In the area specializing in selling candies and jams, vendors enthusiastically invite customers when they see them passing by, constantly asking what they need to buy, what they are looking for to introduce. Ms. NA, owner of stall number 676, said that occasionally, there are a few groups of tourists coming to visit and take pictures, but the customers do not buy.

Hoa Hung Market (District 10) is also in a situation of “many sellers, few buyers”. Some stalls closed early due to lack of customers. Ms. LT, the owner of a shoe stall, said she had put up a sign to sell her stall because business was slow and income was not enough to cover expenses…

Many worries

Ms. V., a long-time trader at Xom Chieu market (District 4), calculated that after deducting all premises costs, she only makes a profit of 70,000-150,000 VND per day. According to Ms. V., if a few decades ago, this income level was very good, but now, it is not even equal to a pension. Next to Ms. V.'s stall, many stall owners have put up transfer signs, with prices ranging from several hundred million VND to billions of VND per stall, depending on the location. Before the news that Xom Chieu market would be upgraded in a modern direction, Ms. V. said that she and other traders were quite hesitant: "Business is slow now, if the market is upgraded, traders will have to pay all kinds of additional costs, but it is not certain that purchasing power will be better. Binh Tay and Ben Thanh markets... also mainly welcome tourists, while traditional customers have decreased sharply compared to before." Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee had planned to renovate and upgrade Xom Chieu market into a trade center - market, but it has not been implemented yet due to funding problems.

The concerns of many traders in traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City are understandable. Even An Dong traditional market (District 5), one of the markets that has been upgraded to a modern commercial and service center, is still quite deserted. This place specializes in providing wholesale and retail clothing, confectionery of all kinds... to people in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces, but now purchasing power is sluggish. Recently, the An Dong market management board organized training, encouraging people to livestream sales via social networks in parallel with direct business. However, only a few traders have implemented it effectively; the rest admitted that they are old and have difficulty adapting to the new form of sales...

The Ho Chi Minh City industry and trade sector has a plan and solution to optimize the system of traditional markets in the area. Specifically, the orientation is to reduce the number to 216 markets (reducing 17 markets); of these, 199 markets will remain the same, 34 markets will be cleared, relocated, or have their functions changed... According to the development plan of the Ho Chi Minh City trade sector until 2025, with a vision to 2030, the city will not increase the number of markets in the inner city. New developments will only be carried out when there is a need to accommodate traders in the markets to be relocated or cleared. Focus on repairing and upgrading existing markets to meet the buying and selling needs of the people, combined with tourism development. Review and select ineffective markets with an area of ​​800-1,000m2 or more to upgrade and convert their functions into modern distribution forms based on socialized capital...

Learn how to keep customers

Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, said that reducing the scale of ineffective traditional markets is inevitable in the current context of fierce competition. However, businesses themselves must also be agile, should approach customers on multiple platforms, serve both direct and online sales; improve service quality; avoid haggling, overpricing, mixing in poor quality goods... In reality, consumers have too many choices when shopping, so to "retain" customers, small traders must also learn and change more.

THI HONG - HAI NGOC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tim-loi-thoat-cho-cho-truyen-thong-post763506.html