Many models of air conditioners are now heavily discounted – less than 4 million VND/set but still not enough to attract buyers
Usually, following the Lunar New Year, air-conditioners are chosen by manufacturers as well as retailers as the focal point to attract buyers. However, this year, retailers are “running” a series of incentives but still cannot stimulate demand.
Consumption too slow
Mr. The – the owner of 5 refrigeration stores in districts 5, 6 and 11, Ho Chi Minh City – said that in previous years, at this time, every day the stores sold dozens of sets of air conditioners, but this year there is a special day. Can’t sell 1 set.
According to Mr. Chu Minh Thanh – in charge of the electronics supermarket business in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City – since the end of last year, the supermarket has imported a huge amount of goods to sell in this hot season, if the purchasing power does not improve, then see like holding a loss. Mr. Thanh also said that normally, following the Lunar New Year, the purchasing power of air conditioners will increase very strongly, but this year there are few customers, while the reserve of goods for the hot season is very large. According to Mr. Thanh, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the exchange rate increased sharply, so the price of air conditioners also increased by several hundred thousand dong/set, the incentives to donate materials and installation fees were all cut. Up to now, in order to stimulate demand, supermarkets have been forced to reduce selling prices, and continue to donate supplies and install air conditioners to buyers.
Air conditioners are piled up at supermarkets and electronics stores, but few people buy them
Recognizing the electronics market in Ho Chi Minh City since Tet, all air conditioner brands have had lower retail prices than last year, accompanied by many incentives and attractive gifts to attract buyers. For example, type 1 HP air conditioners of Karofi brand have a price reduced by 43% compared to the listed price, to 3.9 million VND/set; Sunhouse brand machines decreased by 53% compared to the listed price, from 8.4 million VND to 3.9 million VND; Kangaroo left 5.9 million dong; Aqua from 10.4 million VND to 7.3 million VND; Casper from 9.1 million to 5.8 million. The price of air conditioners of Sharp, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic brands is also reduced from 2 million VND/set or more.
Customers who buy air conditioners are also offered copper pipes up to 5 m by retailers, installation costs of 1.3 – 1.5 million VND, and many gifts worth hundreds of thousands of VND or purchase vouchers worth up to 2 million VND. copper.
Dispatch at all costs
According to the explanation of the electronics retail systems in Ho Chi Minh City, the stagnant real estate market is one of the main reasons affecting the purchasing power of air conditioners and many other electrical appliances. Besides, the cold weather in the South with continuous rain from before the Lunar New Year until now also makes the purchasing power of this item even more gloomy.
Meanwhile, the biggest headache for retailers is that last year’s inventory is too much and the pressure to import new goods from electronics firms makes the number of air conditioners piled up like a mountain, not knowing when to sell. run out of. Mr. Thai Van Thu, the owner of a business that distributes air conditioners in Ho Chi Minh City as well as the Western region, said that usually, air conditioners are stocked by retailers for regarding 1-2 months of sale, but it takes a lot of time. At this point, inventory has been up to 3-4 months, even for half a year. The reason is that last year, importers were concerned regarding the escalation of the exchange rate, so they took advantage of importing in significant quantities; leading to an increase in inventory to more than half a million sets of air conditioners.
However, recently, the exchange rate has cooled down, China has also reopened, so the supply of air conditioners is quite abundant, the prices are on a downward trend. Faced with that pressure, forcing retailers to quickly release inventory at all costs. If there is a delay, new sources of goods will flood in at “soft” prices, which will make inventory even more difficult.
