Tales of Markets in Saigon
It has been over 300 years since the establishment of Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City today. Many customs and traditions with their own specific features have been formed. With its convenient geographic conditions, trade and business activities have developed in Saigon over a long time. Today, Ho Chi Minh City has become a busy and modern city but its trade customs still remain.
From tradition...
Time goes by. Yet, the trade customs of people in Ho Chi Minh City have not changed. Similar to Hanoi with 36 trade streets in its ancient quarter, Ho Chi Minh City has streets and areas specialising in trading specific goods. For example, in the past, oriental medicines could be found in streets in District 5, or the living areas of Chinese nationals in District 5 and District 6. Now, the city has over one hundred streets specialising in trading similar products. Electronic goods, for example, are available in the Huynh Thuc Khang market in District 1, information technology products can be found on Bui Thi Xuan and Ton That Tung streets. Footwear products are sold on Nguyen Dinh Chieu street. Motorbike spare parts can be found along Hung Vuong streets. Bonsai trees are sold on Phan Huy Ich street in Go Vap district. Cong Hoa street is home to furniture shops. Luxurious and second hand goods are sold in yet more concentrated areas. Dr Tran Ngoc Them, researcher of Vietnamese culture, said that Vietnamese trade customs featured concentrated areas for selling specific goods.
Markets go closely with the history of Saigon. In 1975, the city had only 93 markets. This number has increased to over 400 markets, divided into two groups, wholesale and retail markets. The city has 18 wholesale markets, playing a vital role in supplying and regulating goods for retail markets. A strong development of wholesales markets has produced significant impacts on production and business activities in the city. Among local markets, the Binh Tay (or Lon) market is one of the oldest markets. It was established in 1930. Located on the gate to Ho Chi Minh City from Mekong delta provinces, home to a large community of Chinese nationals who are traditionally very good at business activities, the market is busy day and night. Goods, such as clothes, cosmetics, footwear and food are concentrated in the markets before being sold to other places in the city and other localities nearby. The Tam Binh wholesales farm-produce market has recently been built on 20 hectares in order to relocate the Cau Muoi market from the city’s downtown. Located on the meeting point of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, convenient for communication with south-eastern localities and the Central Highlands, Tam Binh is considered as the city’s most successful wholesale market incorporating a modern business style, which is expected to become a major trade centre in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the city’s plans, by 2010, around 50 per cent of wholesales markets will have been relocated. To that end, the city is building two more new markets.
Retail markets in the city sell mainly fresh food, foodstuff and consumer necessities. Many markets were set up long time ago, such as Ben Thanh (1914), Tan Thinh (1949) and Ba Chieu (1940s). The Ben Thanh market, located in the city’s centre with specific trade customs, is a famous shopping place for visitors. Apart from traditional commodities, tourist products can be found in the Ben Thanh market. Recently, a night market has opened in the market and areas nearby to serve as a food junction and entertainment area for the local community and visitors.
... towards modernity
To meet the demand of local people with their industrious lifestyle and increased income, modern trade models have developed to overcome shortcomings of traditional models. As a result, supermarkets have been introduced with their own advantages. Supermarkets supply high-end products and safe food with many attractive promotion campaigns. So far, the city boasts around 50 supermarkets with many famous chains, including Co.op Mart, Citimart and Maximart. People go to supermarkets not only for shopping but also entertainment and understanding of goods, prices and markets. The Co.op Mart chain, targeting ordinary consumers, has attracted most customers. During Tet (Lunar New Year) the chain received 5,100 customers per day with revenues of VND 5.8 billion. Nguyen Phuong Thao, director of the Maximart supermarket on Cong Hoa street, said that supermarkets were gradually taking advantage of the current situation because goods sold in supermarkets had clear origin. Also, enterprises have made great efforts to help supermarkets introduce products on the mass media. With their well-developed infrastructure and excellent customer services, supermarkets have won trust from customers. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said that supermarkets helped modern women complete their role as housewives while saving time.
After the establishment of supermarkets, trade centres have been formed to sell high-end products with a new business style, which can be seen from the arrangement of pavilions, added services and promotion campaigns. Ho Chi Minh City now has over 20 trade centres with many famous ones, such as Saigontourist, Diamond Plaza, Zen Plaza, Citi Plaza, and the Saigon Nguyen Kim shopping mall.
Regardless business models, trademark of traders has become more important. Apart from selecting prestigious and trademarked goods, consumers have tended to choose prestigious traders. Therefore, many businesses have focused on building their own trademarks along with reasonable price policies and after-sales services.
Nonetheless, many small independent markets have emerged on every corner of the city to meet the demand of low-income workers. These markets cause environmental pollution. Goods sold in these markets have an unsecured quality. Pham Hoang Ha, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Trade, said that the city will remove such markets by 2010, creating favourable conditions for traders to develop modern business models. By this time, the city is expected to have 38 more supermarkets and 50 more trade centres.
Ho Chi Minh City will mobilise all its resources to develop its trade system with a target of creating shopping places, which help beautify the city, making a good impression among local people and visitors.
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