Traditional markets are deserted, but rents are still rising.

Market stall rents are increasing despite sluggish business

Having intended to spend more than 100 million VND to buy 2 stalls with an area of about 3 square meters each, Ms. Nguyen Lan Phuong (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi ) gave up the idea. Sharing with the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Lan said that it was the right decision because she was not determined to spend a large amount of money to invest in business at Hom - Duc Vien market (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi).

"The stall I rented is located in the middle of the market with an area of over 2 square meters and is rented for nearly 8 million VND/month. Currently, business is considered stable because customers passing by to look at the goods have to go through this middle road" - Ms. Phuong shared.

However, according to Ms. Phuong, this number of customers still cannot help revive the store's gloomy business situation. "Even with such difficulties, the rent is still about to increase" - Ms. Phuong shared.

Shoe stalls have a wide range of designs, but few customers come to buy. Photo: Hoang Nam.

Also located at the center of Hom market, but the clothing stall of Ms. Cam Tu (Hoan Kiem, Hanoi) is located in a narrow alley with an area of only 1 square meter and a rental price of 1.5 million VND/month.

“This stall is just big enough for me to hang my clothes and sit and watch the shop. I have to hang my clothes outside the door or temporarily hang them in empty stalls that no one has rented. Business is getting more and more difficult, but the old owner of this stall wants to increase the rent,” said Ms. Tu.

Sharing more with Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Tu said that depending on the location of each booth, there will be different rental prices. Booths located on the first floor and located in the corner of the market with an area of more than 3 square meters will have a rental price of nearly 15 million VND/month. In particular, the rental price for the second floor is 2 - 5 million VND/month higher than the first floor.

Depending on the location of each booth, the rental price will be different. Photo: Hoang Nam. — Depending on the location of each booth, there will be different rental prices. Photo: Hoang Nam.

Some people maintain it because they are afraid of change, others rent it just to store it.

Walking around Mo Market (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi), you can see that the types of clothing and footwear sold here always keep up with the latest trends. The designs are diverse, eye-catching, and the prices are reasonable. In addition to clothing, the market also has many types of businesses such as candy, household appliances, votive paper, etc.

According to Lao Dong Newspaper, most of the time the stall owners just lie down and surf their phones or chat. The market is always in a state of having more sellers than buyers. Many stalls are even closed and have not been rented for a long time.

Mr. Nguyen Thu Giang (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) rented a booth with an area of nearly 3 square meters to sell shoes, but business was slow so he just used it as a warehouse. Photo: Hoang Nam.

Mo Market (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) is deserted, vendors scroll through their phones to relieve boredom. Photo: Hoang Nam.

After 3 generations of selling votive paper products with countless customers, the owner of the votive paper stall at Mo market was surprised because the number of customers coming to the market has decreased sharply.

"Having done business at this market for more than 23 years, I have never seen the market so deserted" - the owner of the votive paper stall shared.

A row of shabby stalls that have been unoccupied for a long time. Photo: Hoang Nam.

Nguyen Thu Giang (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) - the owner of a shoe stall shared: "I opened at 9am but by 6pm I had only sold 2 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of sandals. I have to pay 15 million VND in rent every month, but now it's no different from using it as a warehouse. Luckily I sell online and have a large number of regular customers to maintain my revenue" - Giang said.

According to Mr. Minh - a motorbike parking attendant at the market. "Since Mo Market was planned to be moved to the basement to build a shopping mall, most of the customers who come here during the day only come to park their motorbikes, while the number of customers entering the market has decreased significantly" - Mr. Minh said.

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