6
The Board has also proposed a special patronage rebate of 0.5% in addition to the usual 4%,
amounting to a total patronage rebate of S$50.9 million. A dividend of 5% and a special dividend
of 2.5% were also proposed, totalling S$13.9 million. In addition, members and Link cardholders
also received S$23.8 million in LinkPoints in FY 2012/2013. The total payout to our members and
Link cardholders will be S$88.6 million. And to reward seniors for shopping with us, our Seniors
Discount Scheme helped our senior customers save a total of S$2.4 million.
KEEPING OUR MISSION ON TRACK
For 40 years, FairPrice continues to abide by its mission and stays true to keeping living affordable
for Singapore, amidst high inflation and rising costs. It ensures that daily essentials are kept within
easy reach.
Last year for example, rice prices were driven up due to inclement weather, namely, the year end
2011 flood in the region. FairPrice took the decisive step to freeze the prices of our housebrand
Thai and Vietnamese rice from November 2011 all the way till the end of March 2013, assuring
our customers that they could always count on FairPrice, especially during tough times.
We also celebrated with the nation on its National Day meaningfully, by bringing back our popular
FairPrice Housebrand discount from 9 August till end 2012. This, despite the easing of the Consumer
Price Index compared to the year before, further helped our customers save 5 to 10 percent on over
500 Housebrand items, totalling approximately S$3.3 million worth of savings on their grocery needs.
BUILDING NEW IN-ROADS
Even as we remain focused on our social mission, we continue to be proactive to our customers’
needs. With increasing preferences for online shopping and smartphone usage, we are mindful to
remain relevant through constant innovation.
That was why we launched the My FairPrice iPhone App that topped the iTunes App Store
lifestyle category with over 25,000 downloads within two weeks of its launch. The free app
allowed grocery shoppers to plan their shopping even before stepping into the supermarket,
offering money-saving tips to help our customers keep each trip within budget. As one of the
biggest wine distributors in Singapore, we also upgraded the FairPrice Wine App, initially created
to help customers pair wines with popular local dishes, to now include social media sharing, wine
appreciation and storage tips, videos and notes from wine experts.
Providing increased accessibility, we opened the fifth FairPrice Xtra store at Changi Business Park,
our first hypermarket in the Eastern part of Singapore. Like most of our other outlets, it is equipped
with electronic shelf-labelling, an innovative approach to challenges such as manpower shortage.
To encourage local entrepreneurship and boost business growth, a new franchise programme was
announced for Cheers. Franchisees will receive three months of comprehensive training to help
them ease into the business, while Cheers takes care of supply chain management and marketing.
Venturing beyond local shores, we took our brand to Vietnam and launched a hypermarket chain,
Co.opXtra in Ho Chi Minh City, as part of a joint venture with Saigon Union of Trading Co-operative
Limited. Through this partnership, we will introduce a variety of affordable products to Vietnam,
and Singaporeans back home will benefit from a more diverse range of Vietnamese products.
GATHERING PACE IN DOING GOOD
At FairPrice, success is extended beyond doing well. We also make it our business to translate
profitability into doing good. On top of that, we encourage the community to do good together
with us. Our initiatives in the last year have certainly been in step with this philosophy.
FairPrice Foundation launched its first public education
initiative “Do Good Campaign” to inspire youths to make a
difference in the community with the theme “Small Deeds.
Big Differences”. The Do Good Campaign is built around social
and activation platforms that enable youths to pledge kind
acts and then share their inspirational stories. A pop-up store
called the “Giving Store” also visited schools and student-
populated areas to provide items such as snacks in exchange
of pledges to do good.
To encourage active living and a healthy eating lifestyle,
FairPrice initiated “Celebrating Active Seniors” that
championed active ageing among staff and customers.
In a related effort, FairPrice and our business partners
donated S$300,000 to the Nurses’ Initiative for Community
Engagement to improve nursing services for the elderly.
Bringing cheer to the community, the Boys’ Brigade Share-a-Gift Project in partnership with
FairPrice, collected 25 trolleys of food items for the less fortunate in commemoration of its 25
th
Anniversary. The annual FairPrice Share-A-Textbook also contributed a record 350,000 textbooks
to needy students thanks to public donations.
