JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

The ‘mobile market’ community of HCMC

The ‘mobile market’ community of HCMC

Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 10:02 GMT+7

They are not really vendors nor goods providers, but the sales people -- mostly women --- push a cart or ride a motorbike to tug a cart carrying fresh food such as vegetable, fish, meat, spices and other kinds of food to sell at the door to people living in alleys in cities.

Sharing a similar job, these sales people form a ‘mobile market community’ to assist one another. Many of them come from provinces and have migrated to big cities to do the job.

The ‘mobile market’ community, located at the Bon Xa Crossroad area on the borders of Binh Tan and Tan Phu Districts in Ho Chi Minh City, is prospering by bringing food to wherever customers want it.

The community has about 200 families, of which 80 percent are from the northern province of Bac Ninh.

A working day of Bui Thi Thu, from Binh Hung Hoa A Ward in Binh Tan District, begins at 7-8pm, when her cell phone receives a slew of SMS messages from customers in various districts ordering food for the following day.

Thu said that most customers are office workers, workers and students, who are too busy to go to the market. They usually send her messages to order which food they want tomorrow. Sometimes, they don’t know what to have, and she thus gives them a suggestion.

Thu summarizes all the kinds of food customers order via the SMS messages and calculates the volume of goods she needs to buy the following day by 9pm.

By 1am, the entire community wakes up to ride bicycles or drive motorcycles to Binh Dien Wholesale Market to buy goods.

Each family has 2-3 people taking part in the ‘mobile market’. Some households have done this business through two generations. Of them, the oldest one is nearly 60 years old, while the youngest is around 19. Several men also sell food and do it better than women do, as homemakers think that ‘men are honest’.

Total capital invested in a ‘mobile market’ is minimal, about VND2-3 million (US$96-144) for a bicycle and VND4-5 million for a motorcycle or motorized tricycle.

Vu Thi Lien, who has worked in this business for over ten years, said that in the initial period everyone carried or transported food by bicycle. They then saved for motorbikes or motorized tricycles to sell to districts that were farther away. Once a worker gets richer they buy a stall in the market, where a wife would be in charge while her husband delivers food to their customers.

According to Lien, ordering from the ‘mobile market’ is quite advantageous since many people don’t want to leave their motorcycles in parking lots to go to the market, but still want fresh food.

Le Thi Huyen says unsold meat, fish or vegetables are usually used to make meals at home. They try to save up for land, a house and their children’s schooling.

Contrary to what many people imagine about a poor immigrant area, some residents in the Bon Xa Crossroad area have built spacious houses with modern interiors.

Le Thi Vinh said that her family initially lived in a rental room. She and her husband then borrowed funds to buy land to build a house and gradually paid back their debt. Similarly, several households in her community have strived to own spacious houses. Some even buy minivans to transport goods.

Nguyen Thi Nam, who owns a minivan and is from Binh Hung Hoa A Ward, said that every day she can take up to 1-2 tons of vegetables from wholesale markets. She then sells to peddlers, local residents and other customers, bringing her an average of up to VND1 million ($48) in net profit per day.

Children’s schooling is also a priority of these people. Nguyen Thi Hang, from Binh Tri Dong Ward in Binh Tan District, says she is very happy to see her children study hard.

In the ‘mobile market’ community, there are women who have come to the city alone and work hard for their children’s schooling in their hometowns. Le Thi Trieu, whose child is a university student in Hanoi, expressed that this provides the motivation to work hard.

Nguyen Trong Tra, head of Quarter 27 in Binh Hung Hoa A Ward, said that the members of several households in Bon Xa Crossroad are well-off as they have worked hard and taken opportunities to buy property. It is a happy and proud area because none of the children from these families have left school early.

tuoi tre

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news