Andrew Loh / Deputy Editor
Supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice is extending its 5 percent discount on 500 essential housebrand items till end March 2009. Its Chief Executive Office, Mr Tan Kian Chew, says this is to “make sure that essential goods will remain available to consumers at affordable costs”.
With the discounts, “consumers can save at least 15 percent on 500 essential housebrand items,” says FairPrice in a press release to The Online Citizen. These include popular housebrand items such as FairPrice fragrant rice, cooking oil, UHT and fresh milk, instant noodles, bread and canned food.
“With this five-month extension, the scheme will help consumers save about $7.5 million in grocery bills,” the press release says, “since it was launched in December 2007.”
The 5 percent discount scheme was introduced in December last year as part of the Stretch the Dollar programme. The scheme has been extended three times so far.
FairPrice has also introduced the FairPrice Food Voucher Scheme. In July this year, NTUC FairPrice Foundation donated $1.5 million worth of food vouchers to help needy families. It also donated $3.5 million to NTUC in August this year to help low wage union workers manage their cost of living.
*TOC welcomes press releases from organizations. We can be reached at: theonlinecitizen@gmail.com .
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refer to article on ntuc profit:
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/05/5-minutes-with-leong-sze-hian-on-ntuc-discounts/
Does anyone still remember the Knife Brand cooking oil incident?
alky, would you elaborate?
see, they started to give back some sweeties again to win the people’s vote when too many people reunited as one against them, this is not unsual all these years from the ruling party, but don’t forget one important thing which always happen, they always take back very much more later when you people start to quitened down and move on.
I have been comparing daily household items and found that those small shops in HDB esates are most competitive. If those small shops can offer such competitive price, wonder how much big boy like NTUC Fairproce makes?
I have similar experience with samtom, many of these owner operated groceries and sundries shops are a lot cheaper, if on average 10 to 20 % qualifies as a lot. Because the 5% mentioned seems liked a big deal in advertisement.
Not only prices are lower, the services are more personal and better too.
patriot
Remember when Carrefour first entered the local market, they sold the Knife Brand cooking oil at below the recommended retail price? NTUC cried foul and said it should be sold at the RRP which was against the interests of the consumers. Unfortunately for them this incident was reported in the MSM.
So what does that truly reveal about their motives? So much for protecting the interest of the people….their action speaks louder than empty promises.
talking about discounts, I have something whine about an unrelated discount.
a provision shop used to sell ointment for $10 a bottle of animal balm.
Now, he jacked up the price to $15 a bottle and simply repackaged the bottle to look more modern and fancy. He now sells it for $14 and claims the $1 discount.
He says, in 1 year, his customers are indirectly getting 100% discount for every 14 bottles purchased. He says he contributed to his 1000 customers and that snowballs into $14000 of discounts per year he generously gives out to his loyal customers, naive ones and innocent as well as pathetic of the type A ones.
I voted him the president of the animal balm states.
NTUC Extends Discounts of 5% . . . . a little too late and a little too little . . . . as many have transferred their shopping allegiance to Giant, Carrefour, Sheng Siong, etc . . . and the local mini-shops/ marts.
We were NTUC regulars . . . . but now we love the Giant! and the other competitive supermarkets and support the local mini-marts.
If NTUC extends discounts by a hefty substantial amount by let’s say . . . . double digit percentage . . . we may consider. Furthermore, shopping in NTUC is an unpleasant experience of never ending long queues, crowds and narrow aisles.
“*TOC welcomes press releases from organizations. We can be reached at: theonlinecitizen@gmail.com .”
More like tan tio meh. Sending press release to be published on this site is asking to be criticised. Even an article on extension of discount by NTUC can somehow = diatribe against NTUC. lol.
Well, at least something to help tide over the downturn.
A good gesture is a good gesture and must be commended. I’m sure NTUC Housebrand has its followers and they would benefit from the discount. For us that are not consumers of NTUC housebrands for whatever reasons may not benefit from it and will probably continue to shop elsewhere if prices for the same branded items are cheaper elsewhere.
I hope when other big supermarkets such as Cold Storage and Sheng Siong hand out discounts, it will receive just as much coverage. Otherwise, this good gesture may look to be serving as attempting to salvage some political points for its parent organisation, that is NTUC… (which incidentally are headed by members of the ruling party)
Remember when Carrefour first entered the local market, they sold the Knife Brand cooking oil at below the recommended retail price? NTUC cried foul and said it should be sold at the RRP which was against the interests of the consumers. Unfortunately for them this incident was reported in the MSM. – alky
Free market means can set any price. Having a RRP is almost as good as price fixing. What is the competition commission´s position on this?
If you have tried the house brand, you would want to go back to the more expensive brands tha offer better quality. I have tried so many of the house brand and they are really of lame quality, paying a few more cents I get better quality. Some of the house brand i have tried and my comment:
1. Cheese – lame quality, no cheesy taste, taste more like butter than cheese
2. Korean style Instant noodle – I would rather pay the additional 50c for the original Korean brand. The soup base is weak and the noodle texture is so lame
3. Orange juice – this is a typical sugar water with some flavor
4. Bread – no doubt they are cheap but they are hard too
5% more on the house brand, why not 10% on house brand and 5% on other brand?
NTUC Fairprice is suppose to be an organization set up to regulate the provision products price such that other merchants will not be selling the provision at a unregulated price. But looking at some of the product price in NTUC compare to Giant, Carrefour and SengXiong, NTUC apparently is not so fair in their price…..
To be honest, I have not shopped in NTUC for eons!! I have dealt with these idiots before & trust me, the everyone there have the usual PAP mind set. I rather buy from the mini-mart or mama store, at least I know they wont ‘re-invest’ the profit in some foreign banks & lose it all!!
I agreed with MMSMPMMC. I do not mind buying tissue paper or toilet rolls from housebrands but not food items. The quality is really bad. NTUC should give 10% discount to other brands as housebrands are already quite cheap.
NTUC house brand stuff are really inferior in quality and some of them are not fit to be sold. For example, its chicken rice chilli sauce tastes like nothing that is edible, its latex gloves last only a few uses before holes appear and its adhesive-backed hooks cannot take even half the weight they are supposed to bear.
The house brand foodstuff is not only inferior, but not much difference in price if you look carefully.
One eg.
Housebrand Sausages $3only
Gourmet sausages $4.58
But the housebrand ones in a pack of 5 weighs only 200 grams, whereas the gourmet one is 300grams.