Stores increase hours, staff for Tet
A representative of Intimex said that the number of customers at its
supermarkets had grown by five to ten times at this time of the year and
that the stores would increase their inventories by an average of 30
percent. More cashiers and guards would be added to reduce overcrowding,
he said, noting that the supermarkets would re-open on February 6, the
fourth day of Tet.
Supermarket chain Big C announced it
would extend hours by 1-2 hours during the peak period from January 24
to February 1. All Big C outlets would open from 7am to midnight next
Wednesday, February 2.
Big C Thang Long store manager
Nguyen Trong Tuan, said his store had increased the numbers of check-out
counters and cashiers by 30 percent through next Wednesday.
Tuan also said that Big C would not increase the prices of essential
goods during the holiday shopping period, particularly products
identified as part of the price stabilisation programme.
According to Fivimart, the prices of goods have increased only slightly
compared with last year, but Fivimart supermarkets continued to offer
products at discounts of 10-30 percent.
Nguyen Tien Thoa,
head of the Ministry of Finance's price management department, said the
authorities had taken actions to manage and ensure stable prices and
supplies for the holidays.
Starting in December, Thoa
said, inspectors from local finance departments had reviewed and checked
the listed prices of products in supermarkets, shopping centres and
shops.
Retailers under the price stabilisation programme
in Hanoi and HCM City had also received loans worth up to 880 billion
VND (45.1 million USD), he said.
"We are determined to deal with violators who have not listed prices or have increased prices unreasonably," Thoa said. /.