Electronic Products Promotion Season

People are flocking to big electronics supermarkets to buy products discounted by 20-30 per cent. However, not all customers can buy discounted products at these places.

 

Nguyen Kim supermarket, which has expanded operations from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, is a centre of electronics discount programmes these days. Streams of people are flocking to the supermarket following its big promotions. They also want to go there to see one of the most modern electronics supermarkets in Hanoi. Last Saturday afternoon, many people came to the supermarket but did not find any parking area. However, they insisted on coming and guards had to repeatedly explain that the parking area was full. Buyers went to two parking areas nearby in Quang Trung Street, but unfortunately they were also full. Many of them had to come to Hai Ba Trung street to find parking areas. Most customers said they heard about Nguyen Kim supermarket’s promotion programmes from their neighbours. Many from Ha Dong city and Vinh Phuc province also came.

 

Meanwhile the electronics stalls of Rosa supermarket in Long Bien district are getting overcrowded as customers have to wait for hours to buy discounted products. A customer said she was afraid the number of promotional products was limited, so she had to wait to keep her place.

 

Most camera prices are now significantly reduced. Panasonic Lumix DMC – FX33 cameras are being sold at VND5.1 million, down by VND1.5 million. At Nguyen Kim supermarket, all products are listed with their producers’ prices and the supermarket’s promotional prices or special offers.

 

TVs are also attracting customer attention at supermarkets. Mr Tung from Hoan Kiem district stood at an LCD TV stall for nearly one hour to look at technical qualifications such as screen and resolution as well as prices. He then compared prices of different LCD TVs. Tung said that he wanted an LCD TV for a long time, however, he waited for a promotion to buy it. Staff at a supermarket said LG-branded LCD TVs are most attractive to customers. Their quality is not as good as that of JVC, Sony or Toshiba products, but their prices are lower. At Nguyen Kim supermarket, a 32 inch LCD TV of LG sells at VND10.7 million. Meanwhile, prices of other producers’ LCD TVs are at least VND1 million higher than LG’s.

 

Not all prices of electronic products are “cheap” despite exciting advertisement campaigns. At Nguyen Kim supermarket, a 32 inch LCD TV, which is not installed with an integrated digital receiver, is priced at VND10.7 million by the supermarket, including transport fees, compared to the producer price of VND15.3 million.

 

Mr Tung said, prices of LCD TVs produced by LG and Samsung are slashed, while LCD TV’s prices of Toshiba and Sony mostly remained unchanged, with only enclosed gifts.

 

Another customer of Nguyen Kim supermarket, Mrs Hanh, said she discovered that a full-size refrigerator at the supermarket is around VND500,000 cheaper than other places. Many people also leave the supermarket after they find out that prices here are not much cheaper than other shops, and they have to elbow their way through the crowd. Mrs Thanh from Vinh Yen town, Vinh Phuc province, said prices here were just a few thousand VND cheaper than at her home, so she did not buy products at the supermarket due to high transport fees.

 

Mr Tuan from Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, bought a 21-inch LG TV at Nguyen Kim supermarket. He said prices were 30 per cent lower than other places, but he did not know the outside prices.

 

Another concern of customers when buying discounted products is that they do not have many choices. For instance, Panasonic’s Lumix FX33 camera line comes in five colours including black, silver, brown, pink and green. However, only black ones, considered out of fashion, are displayed at the supermarket.

 

Meanwhile, electronics shops in Hai Ba Trung street have seen a remarkable decrease of customers. A shop owner in this street said he had surveyed prices of electronic products at big supermarkets and recognised that they not much cheaper than price levels at Hai Ba Trung shops. However, he admitted that Nguyen Kim supermarket’s advertisement and promotional campaigns are very attractive to customers. He also noted that the price disparity is sometimes due to differences in technical qualifications, adding that buyers should pay attention to fidelity, resolution and sound quality as well as size.

 

Another shop owner said many acquaintances still buy products at his shop even after they go to big supermarkets, as they did not find remarkable discounts there.
Anh Tuan