Despite the cold and rainy weather, the winter fashion market in Nghe An is bustling.

Preparing for this year's winter, since August, Mr. Nguyen Duc Giang, the owner of a men's clothing shop on Hermann Gmeiner Street (Vinh City), has imported a considerable amount of autumn and winter clothing to serve his customers. However, this year, the hot weather has lasted for an extended period; even in mid-November, the winter clothes he brought in remained unsold.

"We imported nearly 100 million VND worth of goods, and for the past three months, we've only been selling a 'trickle' of them to customers buying warm clothes for overseas employment in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan... We thought we'd have to accept having unsold inventory until next year, but this week, with the cold and rainy weather, we've had quite a lot of customers," Giang said.

Having been in the fashion business for nearly 20 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xoan, the owner of a clothing stall at Vinh Market, is experienced in monitoring weather forecasts to source suitable goods. According to Ms. Xoan, winter is arriving late this year, but there will be prolonged periods of intense cold.

Therefore, we mainly import thermal clothing and thick puffer jackets. Besides, consumer tastes are changing; clothes must follow the latest trends, so we don't import overly expensive items but instead focus on eye-catching designs at reasonable prices.

The goods mainly originate from Guangzhou, China, with affordable prices and attractive designs, giving consumers many options to compare and choose from: puffer jackets, wool, felt, and fur jackets priced from 300,000 to 800,000 VND/piece; long-sleeved sweaters priced from 250,000 to 400,000 VND/piece; thermal shirts from 80,000 to 200,000 VND/piece; and velvet pants priced from 300,000 to 350,000 VND/piece.

"With the difficult economic situation, it's no longer about 'buying and wearing durable clothes,' but rather about changing frequently according to the seasons and years. Therefore, we also choose affordable, modern-style warm clothing to meet customer demand," Ms. Xoan said.

Given current income levels, fashion boutiques import mid-priced items to cater to the tastes of the majority. Designer clothing is not abundant; it mainly serves a small number of affluent customers and is mostly pre-ordered.

"Custom-designed, branded clothing, priced from a few million to tens of millions of dong, only make up a small portion of the shelves; most are items that customers have pre-ordered. Shops don't dare stock up on inventory like before. Nowadays, most customers are tightening their spending, so branded clothing is very difficult to sell," said Ms. Tra Giang, owner of a designer clothing shop on Nguyen Van Cu Street.

According to surveys, this year's winter fashion market is dominated by imported goods at affordable prices. Generally speaking, warm clothing is even cheaper than last year, and customers have more choices due to the continuous appearance of new and innovative designs on the market.

In addition, many domestic fashion brands such as Savani, Torano, Yody… also dominate the market with a wide variety of puffer jackets, wool coats, sweaters, and windbreakers. Commonly used materials include wool, khaki, cotton, and thin wool… with diverse colors and affordable prices, catering to the tastes of a wide range of customers.

In addition, some essential winter accessories such as tights, socks, scarves, and hats are also popular products. The price of tights ranges from 30,000 to 120,000 VND per pair; fabric and wool scarves cost from 40,000 VND upwards...

At this time of year, children's fashion items are also very popular. Around midday and late afternoon, many customers gather to shop at children's clothing stores. While choosing warm clothes for her child at a store on Hong Bang Street (Vinh City), Ms. Nguyen Huong Giang shared: “Children grow year by year, so we need new clothes for each season, replacing old ones because they get too small or too tight. Children's warm clothes are generally quite expensive, not much different from adult clothes. With two children, buying two jackets, two sweaters, two thermal shirts, along with shoes and socks, each child costs around 2-3 million VND.”

To stimulate shopping, this period also coincides with the biggest promotional event of the year, Black Friday, so fashion shops and clothing brands are launching deep discounts, ranging from 30-50%, or even 70%.

Some stores see this as an opportunity to clear out inventory, so in addition to discounts, they offer buy-one-get-one-free deals, combo deals with gifts, gift vouchers, and lucky draws, attracting a large number of buyers. However, consumers should carefully consider their purchases and avoid impulsive buying just because of discounts, as this could lead to purchasing low-quality or defective goods, causing waste.