Nguyen Hong Van and her son bought a set of sixth grade books and notebooks and pens at the Thang Long bookshop in HCM City’s Binh Thanh District.
Van told the Viet Nam News: “This is a good time to buy books for my son so that he can take a look at them before beginning the new school year.”
Le Minh Truong of District 2 and her daughter were choosing school supplies at a bookshop in District 1.
Truong said: “The new school year will start soon. So I brought my daughter here to buy stationery for her.”
Shopping for school supplies at bookshops and supermarkets has seen a surge in recent days.
Books, pens, pencils, backpacks, school bags, uniforms and others are available in a range of designs and prices, with most being local products.
The comic and reference books sections are also packed with children these days, both reading there and buying.
As usual, the city has a price stabilisation programme covering four groups of school supplies: notebooks, shoes, uniform and bags.
It is constantly growing, and this 13 companies have registered to sell 17.08 million notebooks, 570,000 uniforms, 1.86 million schoolbags and backpacks, 920,000 pairs of shoes and other school supplies at fixed prices, meeting 35-50 per cent of demand.
Huong Mi Handbags Co Ltd said it is again taking part in the programme this year and hopes to sell around one million backpacks and schoolbags, 20 per cent more than last year.
The company has many new models this year, including backpacks that prevent back deformities, and is focused on improving quality to ensure absolute safety for children.
Nguyen Minh Trung of Tap Viet JSC (Starbook) said his company would supply 10 per cent more notebooks this year, and they feature new patterns.
Due to costs especially of paper going up by more than 35 per cent this year, the prices of notebooks are about 30 per cent up at VND5,000-VND15,000, he said.
Bui Van Tinh, deputy director of Tuan Viet Shoes Co Ltd, said the company has increased supply by 2,000 pairs this year and their prices start at VND225,000 (US$10.08).
Bookshops, supermarkets and other sellers have launched promotions for stationery and school supplies.
Many bookshops in HCM City, including Thang Long, Nguyen Van Cu and Fahasa, are offering discounts on textbooks and reference books as well as products like notebooks, pens and school bags.
Co.opMart and Co.opXtra supermarkets are offering large discounts on uniforms, bags, notebooks, pens and others.
Lotte Mart is also offering discounts of up to 49 per cent on uniforms, notebooks and textbooks and other school supplies in July and August.
Doan Diep Binh, head of branding and communications at the Korean supermarket, said: “Anticipating that demand for school supplies will increase strongly, Lotte Mart has increased stocks of school bags, backpacks, uniforms, shoes and other school supplies by 10-15 per cent.”
It too has focused on supplying quality notebooks and uniforms and super-light bags and backpacks that would prevent back deformities, he said. — VNS