Prices of calendars for 2011 have grown by between 10% and 25% as the New Year approaches.
The 2011 market has seen many new kinds of calendars featuring highlights such as the 1000th Anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and various Buddhist images.
Hanoi: High prices, low purchase power
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| The new year means calendars are a hot commodity |
2011 calendars are displayed for sale along streets such as Dinh Le, Trang Thi, Trang Tien, Hang Bong, Nguyen Xi and Nguyen Khuyen in Hanoi with more diversified colours and designs than previous years.
Wall calendars with traditional themes like Tet, Vietnam’s traditional dress (Ao Dai), spring, countryside landscapes, folk pictures, 3D calendars and printed calendars with information about countries worldwide are very popular.
The calendar featuring the 1000th Anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi has attracted great attention from customers.
Mrs. Huong, owner of a calendar shop in Dinh Le Street, Hoan Kiem District, said, “There are new kinds of calendars every year, but most customers are often interested in calendars with a traditional theme.”
She added that the best seller in her shop is bloc calendar, while the desktop calendar is the least attractive to customers.
The number of customers coming to big bookstores have started gradually rising. According to calendar distributors, the number of printed calendars this year is less than past years.
Calendar prices this year in Hanoi range from VND2,500 (USD0.125) for a wall calendar of one single paper sheet to VND240,000 (USD12) for a bloc calendar (sized 30×40cm).
HCM City: Big-size block calendars the trend
This year, the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam has issued Buddhism bloc calendar sets of sizes 14.5x20.5cm and 20x30cm.
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| Buddhism bloc calendar sets for the Lunar New Year 2011 |
According to Mrs Thanh Thuy, owner of a bookstore on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, this year’s calendar market is relatively quiet, but prices are often from 10% and 25% higher than those of previous years.
She attributed the price hikes to increases in paper material prices and many other costs such as transport. Besides, publishing houses discount rates for agents and shops have dropped by between 10% and 15%. Therefore, prices of each bloc calendar will grow from VND5,000 (USD0.25) to VND10,000 (USD0.5).
Big-size bloc calendars are priced from VND100,000 (USD5) and USD600,000 (USD30) each.
Mr. Hoang Minh, owner of a bookstore on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1, admitted that, “Customers are looking but few are buying. This year’s purchase power is slower than every year but may sharply rise in the week to come.”
