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For shoppers, one price says it all
One-price shops are the latest retail trend to emerge in Viet Nam, selling clothes and housewares – with everything in the store sold at one fixed price.
Huong, who owns a one-price shop on Ha Noi’s Ton Duc Thang Street, said: "Since we began to offer all items at one price, sales have increased sharply. And, we don’t need to bargain with customers."
While one-dollar stores are popular in the US for bargain-conscious shoppers like students, the phenomenon is taking on a certain upscale appeal in Viet Nam, with stylish one-price clothing boutiques becoming the latest retail rage.
Nguyen Ngoc Phuong, manager of Tracy, a one-price chain that sells every item for a fixed price of VND130,000 (about US$7.35), said that Tracy’s customers are diverse, ranging from students to office workers.
Tracy customer Phan Thanh Ngoc, who works for a foreign-invested company in Ha Noi, said she has been shopping in one-price stores for about six months since first drawn by curiosity to a single-price shop on Ba Trieu street.
"The price in this shop is quite reasonable," Ngoc said.
Customer Nguyen Huong Nhi, who works for import-export company Vegastar, agreed, and said the design of the clothes and other products she’s found in one-price shops were appealing and seemed like a good value.
"It depends on each person’s tastes, but when I told my friends about the store, they had the same idea as me," Nhi said.
Furthermore, she added, customers don’t have to haggle over prices in these kinds of shops, which saved time and stress.
Ha Van Tang, general secretary of the Viet Nam Marketing Association, said that the single-price shops have struck a chord with customers.
"It’s marketing that meets the needs of customers, by first awakening their curiosity and then meeting their demands for both quality and a reasonable price," said Tang.
The phenomenon of the single-price shop was also in sync with the economic times, when people are more sensitive to saving money, he added.
A VND99,000 shop on Ha Noi’s Kham Thien Street is typically thronged with shoppers.
"Before, I bought clothes only from famous fashion shops, but, because of the economic downturn, I have had to cut back on spending and have shifted to one-price shops," said Minh, who works for a foreign company and was trying on a dress.
"If you choose carefully, you can find good stuff at reasonable prices," she added.
Daiso, a Japanese supermarket selling a wide variety of housewares at a single price, has opened outlets in Ha Noi and HCM City with over 90,000 items on sale, including toys and cosmetics, all at a single price of VND30,000.
"The products here are unique – things I can’t find elsewhere – and the price is rather reasonable," said Tam, a Daiso customer. "Today, I’m planning to buy some plastic chopping boards, glasses, combs and other items. I’ll bring my friends here."
Nga, a representative of traditional retail giant Hapro – which has already franchised the Daiso concept but not yet opened any additional Daiso outlets – warned, however, that the one-price shop may ultimately fall to established Vietnamese consumer habits.
She noted that some products at Daiso sell out quickly because they are imported from Japan and seen by customers as unique and reasonably priced, while other products that represent less of a value sit on the shelves.
One-price shops were a retail concept that still needed further study, she said.
Vu Vinh Phu, chairman of the Ha Noi Supermarkets Association, told the newspaper Tin Tuc (News) that one-price stores were expanding, because they met the stricter demands of shoppers during the global economic crisis.
The boom in this type of store was noteworthy, because they were managing to attract customers and generate increased sales turnover at a time when other shopping malls and supermarkets were tending to scale down, Phu said.
"Some enterprises have opened one-price stores to appeal to the tendency of local customers to hunt for bargains," said the chairman of the Association of Viet Nam retailers, Phan The Rue. "It’s a way to ‘catch fish’ during the global economic crisis.... This kind of store should be encouraged to develop, because it is considered as a ‘clever sale’."
But Rue also warned that the shops needed to be consistent in offering one-price products.
"The shops should pay great attention to the quality of products relative to the prices."
VietNamNet, vietnamnews
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