Near Tet, many fashion shops are still deserted and have few customers.

Although it is the peak season to prepare for the Lunar New Year, this year, fashion is one of the many products that have fallen into an unprecedented state of stagnation and desolation. Faced with this situation, many fashion store owners are worried about losing Tet.

At this time, on the streets specializing in fashion in Vinh Yen city such as: Me Linh, Ngo Quyen, Nguyen Viet Xuan, Le Xoay... clothing stores display a variety of winter products such as sweatshirts, down jackets, sweaters, wool coats, fur coats, pajamas... However, according to records, most people's purchasing power has decreased sharply.

Ms. Duong Thuy Linh - owner of a fashion shop on Ngo Quyen Street said: "Although it is almost Tet, which is the peak shopping season, this year, the fashion market is quite quiet. Partly due to economic difficulties, partly due to the cold weather, warm clothes are difficult to sell, sales have decreased significantly compared to previous years.

In previous years, around the middle of the 12th lunar month, my store would clear out Tet goods, but this year, there are still many winter clothes so we started discounting from the beginning of the 12th lunar month. In addition, I also imported more products made of thin, light materials for customers to choose from because the fashion business requires always updating new products according to the weather."

Warm weather causes winter fashion products to "freeze".

Similarly, the shopping situation of chain fashion stores such as Canifa, Yody, ToKyoLife, Ivymoda, NEM... is not very positive. To attract customers, fashion stores have launched many attractive promotions and shocking discounts, but the number of customers coming to buy is only sparse, only a few people.

Ms. Mai Huong, a customer service staff of the Yody fashion chain on Me Linh Street, Vinh Yen City, said: “The weather is not cold even though it is almost Tet, so people's purchasing power for warm clothes has decreased significantly. Customers mainly choose to buy long-sleeved T-shirts, windbreakers, shirts, dresses, while very few people buy down jackets, sweaters, and thick coats. Currently, the store is implementing many promotional programs such as 50% off down jackets, up to 40% off the second product, the more you buy, the deeper the discount... to stimulate consumer demand.

In addition, we understand that people tend to rush to buy warm clothes only when there are cold spells, so we constantly update weather information on social networking sites and hope that there will be a new cold spell so that business can improve.

At ToKyo Life store on Hung Vuong street, Vinh Yen city, the discount and “warehouse clearance” program is also taking place vigorously. Never before have winter clothes been discounted as much as this year. There are items such as down jackets, windbreakers, sweaters, sweatshirts… with prices deeply reduced by 50-70%, but still very few people buy.

Stores and fashion chains continuously launch promotional programs to stimulate consumer demand.

Not only that, the Central Market of Vinh Yen City is also in a desolate and deserted state, with many small traders facing difficulties, lying down waiting for customers. Some kiosks even have no one selling because of the lack of customers.

Having been selling at the market for more than 10 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc - owner of a clothing kiosk said: "It's December already but the Tet shopping atmosphere is still unusually gloomy. This year, the prices of the winter fashion products I sell are lower than every year but consumption is slow, revenue in October and November is only about 1/4 compared to last year. Currently, there is a lot of inventory so with this situation, I am very afraid of "losing Tet". In the past, the stall could support the whole family but in recent years it has been losing money, business is very difficult".

The clothing stalls in the market are deserted.

From a consumer perspective, Ms. Ha Trang, Dinh Trung Ward (Vinh Yen) shared: “The weather is winter but it is not very cold, I mostly wear long-sleeved shirts and light jackets. Thick clothes are rarely used so I don't buy much, I only buy more when there is a cold spell. Moreover, in the current economic situation, we consumers are tending to tighten spending. Shopping habits have also changed a lot, online shopping applications are popular with more affordable prices, so in-person shopping is gradually decreasing."

Faced with the decline in people's purchasing power, many fashion stores have begun to sell their Tet goods early and have stepped up advertising and live streaming sales on social networks. According to retailers, winter clothing inventory has a high capital backlog, while if it cannot be sold and becomes out of fashion over time, it will result in even more losses, so they have to sell it cheaply to recover capital. In general, store owners expect that during the 2024 Lunar New Year, the weather will be colder, people will go out more and shopping demand will increase.

Article and photos: Thao My

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