Good afternoon. I am glad to join all of you at the official launch of FairPrice’s new uniforms, here at Bukit Merah.
FairPrice Co-operative has been around for 31 years. We have seen how it has evolved, from a single NTUC Welcome outlet in Toa Payoh that provided the basic grocery needs of the people, till today, a chain with over 100 outlets islandwide. In recent years, FairPrice has shed its plain, unembellished look to don an image that is in keeping with the times.
I remember just 4 years ago, I was invited to launch FairPrice’s new logo. The new logo has 3 stacked ticks representing its core values - Best Value, Quality Products and Excellent Service. The change not only signifies a brand new corporate identity but has also positioned the Co-operative as a modern and forward-looking organization that is always staying ahead of its time.
This round of uniform change comes after 9 years; the last time when FairPrice changed its uniforms was in 1995. The change in uniforms is more than a cosmetic one. Besides presenting a brand new, refreshing image to its customers, the uniform change symbolizes FairPrice’s increased commitment towards quality and service excellence. By leveraging on the latest IT and logistics technology, its operations and processes have improved tremendously over the years. FairPrice’s commitment to food safety and safe food handling practices has won it many accolades. This commitment is backed by the HACCP and ISO 9001 certifications. With the new uniforms, FairPrice also hopes to bring the professionalism of its service staff to an even higher level.
I was told that the new uniforms are a complete change from the current ones, in terms of both the colour and the design. Like all of you here, I look forward to seeing the new uniforms, which will be unveiled in just a while.
The refurbishment of this 24-year-old Bukit Merah supermarket is testimony of FairPrice’s strong dedication towards serving the needs and meeting the ever rising expectations of its customers. This outlet joins the ranks of its other recently refurbished outlets at Bedok North, Jurong Point and Toa Payoh. The wider aisles and the friendlier layout are certainly a welcome change following the refurbishment. With consumers becoming more sophisticated and discerning in their taste, the supermarket has also looked beyond the usual range of groceries to provide more exciting new products from a wide variety of sources including Australia, the US, Japan and now even Korea. I would like to also commend its latest initiative - the Just Wine Club. It is not a prestigious club solely for the elite. Instead, with its very affordable membership fee and attractive privileges, the club reaches out to the masses -- people from all walks of life who share a common interest in wines.
FairPrice’s role in serving and caring for the less privileged in the community is commendable. Despite the economy showing signs of recovery, FairPrice has decided to continue to absorb the 2% GST on its basket of 400 essential items till the end of this year. This exercise will cost the Co-operative another $2.5 million, in addition to the $4.5 million that it has absorbed from January to June 2004. And it did not bat an eyelid to make this decision -- simply because it is the people’s supermarket, owned by more than 460,000 members. Over the past 2 years, FairPrice had also given millions of dollars in food vouchers to the needy. It is indisputably, the ‘Supermarket with a Heart’.
As an employer, FairPrice has also fulfilled its social role in providing jobs for workers in Singapore. Among the large retailers in Singapore, FairPrice has one of the lowest number of foreign workers in its workforce. Less than 1 per cent of its 5,000-strong workforce are work permit holders.
Today, together with the launch of its new uniforms, FairPrice is kicking off a charity drive to help raise funds for its adopted charity, Club Rainbow, through the sale of Club Rainbow pins at all its outlets island-wide. Besides the sale of pins, FairPrice will also work closely with Club Rainbow on other fund raising initiatives including the sponsorship of the Garfield movie premiere, later this month. Beyond bringing fun and pleasurable treats to this group of children with life threatening illnesses, FairPrice also provides assistance in the form of gift vouchers and food items to the children who come from the less well-to-do families. These children are also given priority selection at FairPrice’s Annual Used Textbooks Project.
As chief of the labour movement, I am heartened by the many charitable undertakings of the FairPrice Co-operative. It has indeed lived up to its motto ‘We Serve, We Care, We Share’. The role that it plays today has far surpassed its founding mission, which was to moderate the cost of living in Singapore. We take pride in the achievements of this homegrown supermarket chain.
On this note, I congratulate FairPrice on the launch of its new uniforms and the re-opening of its newly-refurbished Bukit Merah Central supermarket.
