• 5 and 10 percent discount for over 500 FairPrice Housebrands to help consumers save an estimated $3.3 million over 5 months till end of 2012.

NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) is bringing back its signature FairPrice Housebrand discount from 9 August till the end of 2012, to help consumers save on their grocery needs. Plus! Visa and NTUC Plus! Visa cardholders will enjoy a 10 percent discount while non-cardholders will enjoy a 5 percent discount on over 500 FairPrice Housebrand items. FairPrice estimates the discount to cost the co-operative approximately $3.3 million over the 5-month period.

Though the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food eased slightly for the first half of this year compared to last year, consumers will be able to further stretch their dollar through the additional FairPrice Housebrand discount. FairPrice Housebrands are already on average at least 10 percent cheaper than comparable national brands. According to the Singapore Department of Statistics, the CPI for food for the first half of this year moderated slightly from 2.8 percent to 2.7 percent over the same period last year.

Explaining FairPrice’s decision to re-introduce the FairPrice Housebrand discount, NTUC FairPrice CEO, Mr Seah Kian Peng said, “FairPrice will continue to do our part to provide daily essentials that are affordably priced as we have done so through the years. It is our social mission to help moderate the cost of living and we hope the additional FairPrice Housebrand discount will bring additional relief to both our members and our customers, especially those from the lower income households. We also hope this brings some additional cheer to all in Singapore as we celebrate our 47th birthday as one nation.”

The FairPrice Housebrand discount was first introduced in December 2007 during the economic recession as part of the “FairPrice Stretch Your Dollar programme” and has been reintroduced during periods of inflation over the past few years. Over the years, FairPrice has given out over $15.45 million in discounts through these initiatives to help consumers save on groceries.

Apart from offering the FairPrice Housebrand discount, FairPrice also strives to hold prices for as long as it can, and on some occasions, has even reduced prices of its housebrand daily essentials. For example, a 5 kg bag of FairPrice White Rice saw a price reduction of over 10 percent – from $6.95 in July 2010 to $6.20 in July 2012 – compared to two years ago.

In June this year, FairPrice also pledged to continue freezing prices of its housebrand rice from Thailand and Vietnam, till the end of the year.

FairPrice Housebrand products were first launched in 1985 with a small range of essential items such as cooking oil, toilet paper and rice. The primary purpose was to ensure that essential daily items are available to customers at affordable prices. FairPrice Housebrand products are on average priced at least 10 percent lower than comparable national brands. Over the years, FairPrice Housebrand items have increased in popularity and sales have grown more than 10 percent year-on-year.

In order to provide quality housebrand products for its customers at lower prices than other national brands, FairPrice adopts various strategies. These include diversified sourcing, minimal advertising costs and bulk buying. FairPrice also imports directly which reduces middlemen costs and have contract prices with manufacturers to assure price stability.