• Discounts are being made to 650 products at Giant’s 53 hypermarkets across Singapore
• Giant’s owner Dairy Farm Group said the move was partly to ease financial hardship faced by customers during the pandemic
• Discounts on fresh products will last at least three months, while those on other products will last at least six months

SINGAPORE — After closing several Singapore outlets in recent years, the owners of the Giant chain of hypermarkets on Thursday (Sept 24) announced moves to woo customers with wide-ranging discounts on hundreds of products that will cost the company about S$17 million.

Giant, with 53 stores islandwide and owned by Dairy Farm, said in a statement that part of the reason for the move was to ease the financial hardship faced by customers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The discounts on 650 products include 20 fresh products from prawns to potatoes, as well as 630 non-fresh essentials from household brands like Maggi and Lee Kum Kee.

The discounts will take effect on Thursday, and last a minimum of three months for fresh products, and at least six months for non-fresh products. The chain is also introducing a new logo.
In a virtual media event on Wednesday, Mr Chris Bush, Dairy Farm's chief executive officer for Southeast Asia food business, said that the move followed customer feedback in recent months over the tough economic conditions brought on by Covid-19.

“(Customers) are very anxious about the future… the Covid situation has created a new world for many people and that creates a lot of financial anxiety around their future, job security, et cetera,” he said.

“They would like cheaper prices, greater value, and they also would like stabler prices, particularly on the essential products they buy most often.”

He added that Giant had seen “a very, very strong uptick in sales” from February to June, partly due to panic buying and while this has “normalised”, sales are still strong because more people are eating at home than at the same time last year.

However, the uptick has nothing to do with the S$17 million investment, Mr Bush said. This comes from Giant’s multi-year revitalisation programme that began in 2018.

“We’ve been working hard on our productivity into our supply chain in order to be more productive and save money.” 

Giant has hit the headlines in recent years with several branch closures in 2018, prompting people to ask questions about the future of the stores.

The chain said then that the closing and opening of stores depended on factors such as performance, lease renewals and site potential.

PRODUCTS ON DISCOUNT

The discounted products will see an average price drop of about 21 per cent.

Among the 20 fresh products — which include vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood — are vannemei prawns (commonly known as the white prawn) that have been discounted from S$1.89 per 100g to S$1, while the price of bananas has fallen from S$0.24 per 100g to S$0.22.

The 630 discounted products that are not fresh produce include powdered coffee, sauces, baking needs and detergent. A bottle of Dove body soap that was S$9.70 is now S$5.90 while a 5kg packet of rice that was S$9.80 is now S$9.70.

Other than the discounts, Giant has undergone an “extensive refresh” of all its stores by introducing 2,000 new products, among other initiatives.

The hypermarket also launched its own in-house brand, Meadows, which so far has 200 items including potato chips, rice and wholemeal bread. All Meadows products will be part of the 650 on discount.