With the prolonged cold weather, fashion stores are raising prices on winter clothing.

Having moved from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An to start a food business, this was Thai Binh Dai's first winter in Nghe An, so he was largely unprepared. Moreover, the weather was quite hot at the beginning of winter, so he was complacent. The sudden and prolonged cold spell forced him to buy warm clothes, socks, shoes, etc. However, he was quite surprised to find that the prices of warm clothing, especially heavy winter coats like down puffer jackets and padded jackets, had increased by 10-30% compared to the beginning of the season.

Mr. Dai said: “At the beginning of November, when I went shopping for clothes, I looked at some winter coats, but because the weather was still warm, I didn't buy them. Then on December 17th, when the weather suddenly turned very cold, I went back to that store, chose the same coat, and saw that the listed price had increased by 20%. For example, this padded jacket, which cost 900,000 VND at the beginning of the season, is now listed at 1,080,000 VND. I know it's more expensive, but I still have to buy it to wear.”

To cater to this year's winter market, starting in late September, Ms. Nguyen Mai Anh, owner of a fashion shop on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Vinh City), imported hundreds of down jackets, trench coats, and wool coats. However, in October, November, and the first half of December, temperatures remained at 28-29 degrees Celsius, resulting in a significant surplus of winter clothing. She had to consider lowering prices and offering promotions to attract customers, clear out remaining stock, and recover the capital needed for Tet (Lunar New Year) purchases, but sales remained difficult.

Therefore, when the weather suddenly turned cold and temperatures dropped, the number of customers flocking to the shop to buy winter coats surged. With few shops selling winter clothing, puffer jackets and trench coats sold out quickly. Within just one week, the store experienced a "flood of orders" both online and in-store, with all winter clothing sold out at high prices.

“Initially, I reduced the prices of puffer jackets from 1 million VND to 799,000 VND; and trench coats from 1.5 million VND to 1.3 million VND, but they were still difficult to sell. After the weather suddenly turned cold, I stopped offering discounts and sold them at the original listed prices. In the past few days, the shop's winter clothing stock has been completely sold out,” said Ms. Mai Anh.

According to observations, children's clothing shops have seen a sudden surge in shoppers, with sales increasing 5-7 times compared to before the cold weather. Ms. Nguyen Huyen, a children's clothing retailer on Nguyen Sy Sach Street, said that due to habit, people wait until the cold weather is really over before buying winter clothes. Previously, most customers only came to browse and check out the designs and prices; the number of customers buying clothes wasn't high.

"With this cold spell, our children's clothing store has been much busier. The number of customers has increased sharply. We've also proactively restocked to meet customer demand. However, at the end of the year, goods from China are arriving slowly, and importing new stock takes a long time, so our warehouse is running low on inventory," said Ms. Huyen.

In the budget segment, stalls selling cheap puffer jackets on Ngu Hai and Dang Thai Than streets, in local markets, and in second-hand shops also attract a large number of customers. In local markets, especially Vinh Market – which supplies wholesale clothing to district markets – this severe cold spell is also the busiest time of year for sales. On some days, traders are busy preparing orders non-stop. Sales during the 10 cold days increased 3-4 times compared to the previous month.

“Right after the first severe cold spell, the number of orders for stores increased dramatically. Orders from retailers in the high-altitude districts of Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Que Phong, and Quy Chau surged. The best-selling products were mainly puffer jackets, woolen coats, woolen hats, thermal shirts, and accessories such as socks and gloves. A significant amount of leftover winter clothing was also sold off without any price reductions,” said Phan Thi Ngan, owner of a wholesale clothing agency at Vinh Market.

According to weather expert Nguyen Ngoc Huy's forecast, Nghe An province will experience several more periods of intense cold during the New Year and Lunar New Year holidays. Because it is currently the peak of winter, the North Central provinces will have more rain and humidity than the average of previous years, accompanied by cold weather. Therefore, the demand for warm clothing and outfits for Tet celebrations will increase significantly.