April 22, 2008 – NTUC FairPrice has come up tops in the supermarket category in Singapore in two independent surveys measuring brand trust and customer satisfaction respectively.

At the Readers’ Digest Trusted Brand Awards ceremony today, FairPrice won the Platinum Trusted Brand Award for supermarket chains in Singapore, while the FairPrice range of cooking oils was a winner of the Gold Trusted Brand Award for cooking oil. Two weeks ago (7 April), FairPrice achieved the highest score for the supermarket chain category in the inaugural Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore, scoring 68.9 against the industry average of 67.1.

Mr Tan Kian Chew, Group CEO, NTUC FairPrice, said: “It is indeed encouraging to be recognised as the market leader in brand trust and customer satisfaction among supermarket chains in Singapore. We would like to thank our customers for their strong endorsement, and we will continue to deliver on our brand promise to bring quality, value and excellent service to our customers.”

Currently in its ninth year, Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Survey measures top-of-mind recall and positive brand attributes in 43 product categories among respondents across Asia. Respondents were asked to rate brands in areas of trustworthiness, credible image, quality, value, understanding of customer needs and innovation. FairPrice has been a winner in the supermarket chain category in Singapore since it was created in 2006. It was a Platinum winner in 2006 and a Gold winner in 2007.

To win a Platinum Trusted Brand Award, the brand must score more than three times that of their nearest competitor, or score at least double that of their nearest competitor and have an average rating of at least 4 (out of 5) on the qualitative criteria. Brands which score clearly above competitors win a Gold Trusted Brand Award. Most Trusted Brand Award winners achieve Gold status.

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) is a landmark measure of customer satisfaction across more than 30 sub-sectors of the services industry in Singapore. Launched in April 2008, the CSISG is an independent qualitative indicator of the Singapore economy. Respondents are surveyed on their consumption experiences and perceptions of a company and its goods and services. Jointly developed by the Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the index provides detailed customer satisfaction levels and competitive insights into best-in-class organisations industry-wide.

This year, more than 12,000 respondents were surveyed, using criteria such as customer expectations, perceived value and perceived quality. The index further measures the outcomes of customer satisfaction, including customer complaints and customer loyalty.

At FairPrice, customer focus is one of our core values. Last year, FairPrice staff won the most number of Excellent Service Awards, a national award given to staff who delivered outstanding service in the retail industry. FairPrice was also among the 20 retailers in Singapore which took part in the Customer Centric Initiative (CCI), a nationwide programme under the Go the Extra Mile for Service (GEMs) movement, aimed at transforming Singapore’s service standards in the retail industry.