There would be discounts of up to 50 per cent on more than 3,000 essential products at Co.opmart supermarkets, Co.op Food stores, and Co.opXtraPlus hypermarket between August 23 and September 14.— Photo co-opmart.com.vn

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — HCM City has quadrupled its annual sales promotion period to four months this year, according to the Department of Industry and Trade (DoIT).

Unlike in past years, when it was celebrated only in September, this year it will go on until December.

Organised by the DoIT and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the programme targets boosting sales and attracting a large number of tourists, Le Ngoc Dao, deputy director of the former agency said.

Another change this year will be that it will implemented in all the city's 24 districts rather than just the downtown area.

"The programme has got a good response from many businesses," Dao said.

More than 1,200 businesses and 2,500 households are expected to join the programme, nearly 40 per cent more than last year, according to the DoIT.

Saigon Co.op's "Proud of Vietnamese goods" programme would be the highlight of this year's event, Dao said. The supermarket chain's biggest promotion of the year, at a cost of nearly VND200 billion (US$9.4 million), will involve more than 600 suppliers.

There would be discounts of up to 50 per cent on more than 3,000 essential products at Co.opmart supermarkets, Co.op Food stores, and Co.opXtraPlus hypermarket between August 23 and September 14, Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, the co-operative's chairman, said.

There would also be mobile sales programmes in rural and remote areas and industrial zones, he said.

Dao said Saigon Co.op's programme would greatly contribute to the city's sales promotion efforts and stimulate consumption. — VNS