26. Fairmily Ties
"Fairmily" bonds among FairPrice Group employees are strengthened every festive holiday – or during the recent COVID-19 crisis – whenever there is a shopping frenzy at the grocery aisle. As shoppers swarm the stores to stock up for parties or a pandemic, frontline employees work double time to ensure shelves are not empty and shopping experiences are seamless. To relieve their workload, staff across FairPrice Group are encouraged to chip in as part of the One FPG Fairmily Programme.
The programme, which is usually activated during festive seasons, was eventually expanded to the entire year from June 2022 – bridging gaps between HQ and frontline employees. This means that employees from HQ can do “remote” work at the retail branches throughout the year – bagging groceries, replenishing stocks and fulfilling online orders. During festive periods, they also get to perform tasks like quality and control checks in warehouses to assist in supply chain operations.
In 2023, over 500 HQ employees volunteered 3,500 hours during the Chinese New Year period, including promoting the FairPrice app – an omnichannel experience with convenient features like online grocery orders and Scan & Go. These volunteers registered new users on the app, introducing its benefits to them.
The One FPG Fairmily Programme does not just provide much-needed support to frontline employees. By stepping into the shoes of their retail branch colleagues, office- based employees also learn about business processes at the stores and gain a greater appreciation of the work done by frontline employees. "The FairPrice Group One Fairmily spirit remains very strong, and that will anchor us as we deliver on our purpose of keeping daily essentials within reach for all in Singapore," said FairPrice Group Chairman Kee Teck Koon.
Since its humble beginnings in a corner of Toa Payoh, NTUC FairPrice has become the quintessential Singaporean supermarket. The leap from a single store to a grocery giant is a tale of retail reinvention – a half-century journey that saw the cooperative confront crises and challenges, revamps and even robbers.
As it expanded and evolved, FairPrice never wavered from its core mission: to keep daily essentials within reach for all in Singapore.
Through 50 remarkable stories, we celebrate the people, products and places that mark significant milestones for the food retailer over the last five decades, charting its growth and successes in the past, present and into the future.