FairPrice Finest rethinks retail experience

FairPrice Finest is rethinking its retail experience, starting with The Centrepoint. The store now houses The Grocer Bar, a dine-in area for consumers to eat and drink their purchases on the spot. The store also has a craft beer dispenser tap from Red Dot Brew House.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Chua Boon Keat, head of channels (Hypermarket, Finest & Cheers), FairPrice Group said as a major supermarket retailer in Singapore serving over half a million customers, it is essential for the company to stay relevant in serving the varying needs of its large customer base.  

Apart from the mission shoppers, who very focused and just want to get their daily grocery shopping done, FairPrice is also seeing an increasing base of customers who enjoy shopping together, taking their time to browse for the latest products or promotions.

“Beyond just a place to shop for groceries, we realise that shoppers also see grocery shopping as a destination or a place to hang out with family and friends,” he said.

 “We look to provide that lifestyle experience with FairPrice Finest,” he said.  “This is a space within the grocery store where customers can unwind, chill and relax with craft beer and wine while savouring tasty epicurean bites as they shop for groceries,” he shared.

The FairPrice Finest brand allows customers to enjoy more cosmopolitan products such as organic and deli foods at competitive prices and daily groceries available at other FairPrice supermarkets at the same price. While Chua did not comment directly if the model would be replicated in other outlets, he shared that the brand is looking to “evolve with customers’ changing lifestyles and aspirations”.

“We will continue to cater to the evolving needs of the community and delight customers with consistent quality and innovative concepts, regardless of the supermarket format,” said Chua.

At last year’s MARKETING-INTERACTIVE eCommerce awards, the FairPrice’s eCommerce team  also won praise for its integration of online and offline shopping. Judges agreed that FairPrice was able to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience while improving monitoring of shoppers’ behaviour and personalise product offerings. This earned it the silver award for Best in eCommerce – Supermarkets/Hypermarkets at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Asia eCommerce Awards 2021.

Earlier this year, FairPrice Group appointed Vipul Chawla as group CEO. The appointment came as NTUC Enterprise and FairPrice Group looked to further strengthen its core, and talents in its management team. Chawla has held leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies in the FMCG and food services industries. He was previously with Yum! Brands for over a decade, where he most recently served as the president of Pizza Hut International, based in the US. In that role, he oversaw global markets spanning more than 100 countries with a revenue of US$7.5 billion and 345,000 system-wide employees.

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