A similar trend can also be seen in other places. Nguyen Trai Street, located near many universities where students shop frequently, now has many stores with big discount signs in preparation for closure.
On Hang Bong Street, a popular tourist area, some fashion and accessories stores have put up signs saying they are selling products for as cheap as VND50,000 as they seek to liquidate inventories before vacating the premises.
Shop closures are also common five kilometers away near the famous Hoan Kiem Lake.
Vu Hung, a clothes vendor there, said as local shops imported goods from China without proper documents, their owners have been shutting down to avoid being fined by raiding market authorities.
Sellers said the closures are due to market authorities’ intense scrutiny of product origin to prevent fakes.
Another challenge is higher taxes.
A new policy that came into effect this month requires sellers with revenues of VND1 billion and above to pay a percentage as tax instead of a fixed amount as before.
Many vendors, fearful of having to pay more as a result, have decided to close their brick-and-mortar stores.
“I shut down my shop last week due to more stringent tax and product authenticity requirements,” one of them said.
Some stores maintain online activities. Owners only open the door when a delivery person or customer arrives to pick up an item that had been ordered via e-commerce platforms.
They then swiftly close the door again to avoid the gaze of market authorities.
“We are still selling, but mostly online, that is why our physical shops are closed,” a vendor on Dao Duy Anh Street, where 11 stores are closed, said.
