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SINGAPORE: Supermarket chain Giant will lower prices for “hundreds of everyday staples” by an average of 20% for at least six months starting Thursday (September 24).
This comes as customers have expressed financial anxiety amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said the supermarket’s owner, Dairy Farm Group.
Giant has invested up to S $ 17 million in price cuts, its largest single investment in lowering prices in more than a decade, the company said.
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Price reductions will apply to food and non-food items and include local and international brand products, as well as Giant’s house brand, Meadows.
For example, a box of OSK green tea bags now costs S $ 5, almost 30% less than S $ 6.95. This is on the “high side” of the cuts, Lee Yik Hun, marketing director for South East Asia Food, told a news conference on Wednesday.
Other discounted items include Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce priced at S $ 1.10 and Oyster Sauce priced at S $ 3, which is $ 0.70 cheaper than before.
The prices of some fresh foods have also been reduced. For example, customers can expect to buy two goldfish for S $ 6, Lee said. Some vegetables will cost S $ 2 for three bunches, compared to $ 0.90 for a bunch previously.
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With the COVID-19 pandemic causing anxiety about job security and income, customers have expressed their desire for lower and more stable prices, said Chris Bush, Dairy Farm Group CEO for the Southeast Asian food business.
“The COVID situation has created a new world for many people and that creates a lot of financial anxiety about their future,” Bush told reporters Wednesday.
Customers are concerned about the rising cost of living and want “fresh, affordable, quality food,” said Mr. Lee. These needs are even more relevant during the pandemic, as people spend more time at home and cook more, he added.
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The cuts were part of a series of announcements made by Giant for its relaunch this week.
The supermarket chain has also introduced a “dollar zone” in its hypermarkets, where all items cost 1 Singaporean dollar, and has brought in more than 2,000 new products.
Giant joins other supermarket chains that in recent months have introduced measures to keep prices low amid the COVID-19 crisis.
NTUC FairPrice in June said it would continue to freeze the prices of 100 house-brand items in its supermarkets until the end of 2020, as part of a S $ 50 million package to ease household costs of living.
Additional reporting by Ang Hwee Min.
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