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THE SPARKLING ENTRANCE to FairPrice Finest, which has features including a Swiss-style delicatessen, a wine cellar and a European bakery. -- PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SUPERMARKET retailer NTUC FairPrice has converted one of its supermarkets to an upmarket outlet that will match the likes of Jason's and Cold Storage.
The move is to keep in step with the changing tastes of Singaporeans who are now more well-travelled and appreciate the finer things in life, said FairPrice's managing director Seah Kian Peng.
The two-storey outlet at Bukit Timah Plaza, given a total makeover and renamed FairPrice Finest, is the first of its kind by the supermarket chain.
'The lifestyle of our customers has changed. They are more exposed to different cultures and their needs have evolved,' Mr Seah said.
These are customers who ask for items such as wholewheat or squid ink pasta and premium butter, he added.
The 4,000 sq m outlet will have an offering of products like nothing in its other 76 other FairPrice stores.
They include air-flown live oysters from Australia, tender Wagyu beef, Kyoho grapes, exotic cheeses and dips, more than 40 varieties of mushrooms and 50 types of organic vegetables.
Five months of refurbishment work went into making over Finest. Among the new features are a Swiss-style delicatessen, a wine cellar, a European bakery and a stretch dedicated to Japanese snacks.
The local staples found in the common FairPrice outlets will continue to be made available here and at the same prices.
Apart from price, however, FairPrice has clearly taken pains to distinguish its Finest outlet from the rest. Everything from the cashiers' outfit to the trolleys do not look like anything from the regular FairPrice supermarket.
FairPrice aims to open more Finest outlets but would not disclose plans yet.
But Mr Seah hinted that it would probably be in the eastern part of Singapore.
Many shoppers who went to the new supermarket yesterday were surprised by the new look.
Ms Catherine Teo, 36, who has been doing her grocery shopping there even before the conversion, said: 'It's a pleasant surprise. I like the new concept because of the wide variety of organic food.'
ndianah@sph.com.sg
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