Sheng Siong vs NTUC Fairprice

[Guest Fairprice]

went to Thomson Sheng Siong yesterday to buy some vegetable to make a hearty soup. I bought all the vegetable but did not manage to buy chicken parts cause not much left over to choose. Went to Fair Price today at bishan to buy half chicken. I was "wow". The vegetables here are much cheaper and better looking. Sheng Siong your price is not fair worrr....

[Guest Ex ex ex]

A lot of ppl telling me ntuc fairprice items are ex ex ex. Only u say ntuc is cheaper than SS. Too bad I only got three ntuc around my place and no others  

[Guest Tree]

There are more variety of meats and vegetables in SS, as compared to NTUC.

[LoveCum]

Both are relatives

 

[averageguy]

I agree SS has more varieties and more economical than NTUC, NTUC’s cut fruits are literally drowned in sugar syrup and strongly NOT recommended 

[Guest Guest]

NTUC has selected good offers every week.

 

when its on promo, the prices are normally better than SS.

[jlone]

ntuc is usually centrally located whilst ss is difficult to locate

Edited May 29, 2021 by jlone

[Guest liddat]

Seng Siong you buy one pack coffee they give you another pack free (during promo).  NTUC you have to buy two packs to enjoy cheaper price (sometimes members only).   I rather get the free pack from Seng Siong rather than to buy another pack from NTUC.   In terms of vege and fruit varieties, different outlets differ greatly. The bigger the outlet, the more varieties they stocked. If you go to those small neighbourhood NTUC, you get very little choice.   If you go to those mall setting, you get many options of foods.

[Guest Gold]

Which one has best promo lately? Which one usually sells cheaper?

[sgmaven]

NTUC is "celebrating" the Holiday Season with limited time weekend offers, starting this weekend, until Christmas. Do check out what they have on offer. A member of staff at NTUC was telling me that it was going to be good!

[lonelyglobe]

6 hours ago, Guest Gold said:

Which one has best promo lately? Which one usually sells cheaper?

Some items are cheaper in NTUC,  some in SS. NTUC member got link points while SS got discount with China bank's card.

 

The best is to visit both and check the price of the items that u want to purchase, provided both are located within walking distance.

[Guest Silent Protest thru action]

8 hours ago, sgmaven said:

NTUC is "celebrating" the Holiday Season with limited time weekend offers, starting this weekend, until Christmas. Do check out what they have on offer. A member of staff at NTUC was telling me that it was going to be good!

Be careful.  Sales, Promo...have been loosely used in corporate world.  Recently, I realised NTUC has considerably marked-up its price on many items.  I have also stopped eating out as much as I could.   The hawker in  my areas has marked up a simple bowl of noodle from $3.50 to $4.50 (small size) and an extra $20cts for the packaging if I bring home.  That comes to nearly $5.00 for a meal - which I could have 5 days of Korea instant noodles (adding eggs and vegetable).   I have also stopped eating at fast food and then made my own healthy sandwich at home.  

[sgmaven]

6 hours ago, Guest Silent Protest thru action said:

Be careful.  Sales, Promo...have been loosely used in corporate world.  Recently, I realised NTUC has considerably marked-up its price on many items.  I have also stopped eating out as much as I could.   The hawker in  my areas has marked up a simple bowl of noodle from $3.50 to $4.50 (small size) and an extra $20cts for the packaging if I bring home.  That comes to nearly $5.00 for a meal - which I could have 5 days of Korea instant noodles (adding eggs and vegetable).   I have also stopped eating at fast food and then made my own healthy sandwich at home.  

No one forces you to buy from a particular chain or outlet. You buy whatever you think is reasonably priced. In fact, many neighbourhoods also have stalls in shophouses that sell fruits and vegetables, and you can also go to the wet markets...

 

As for instant noodles, be careful of all the additives in the packet. Not exactly the healthiest option. You may want to consider buying fresh noodles, or using pasta.

[Guest Promote ng tuc]

This thread is so obviously started to promote ntuc and the replies slanted in their favor

If anything, more have gone to shemg siomg because they raised senior discount to 4 per cent vs 3 at ntuc.

[lonelyglobe]

9 hours ago, Guest Silent Protest thru action said:

Be careful.  Sales, Promo...have been loosely used in corporate world.  Recently, I realised NTUC has considerably marked-up its price on many items.  I have also stopped eating out as much as I could.   The hawker in  my areas has marked up a simple bowl of noodle from $3.50 to $4.50 (small size) and an extra $20cts for the packaging if I bring home.  That comes to nearly $5.00 for a meal - which I could have 5 days of Korea instant noodles (adding eggs and vegetable).   I have also stopped eating at fast food and then made my own healthy sandwich at home.  

Absolutely,  when hawker want to charge me $1 for an egg, i will just tell them off and cancel the add-on.  Likewise if certain supermarket are more expensive than the others, dont patronise them,  use your action to tell them they are overpriced.

[Guest OG HaoLian Male Promoter]

The lowdown

 

Sheng Siong

 

Tues and Weds : PPioneer 4 %

However, this discount is not applicable to discounted or promo items. eg  Tiger Radler Beer. Promo $7.90. So no 4% off.

 

Use POSB Everyday card for another 7% rebate on total bill.

 

NTUC

 

Mon and Wed -- Pioneer 3%

Tues - Merdeka - 2%

Thur - CHAS Card 3%

 

That is off total bill inclusive of offer, promo items.

 

Use UOB Unionpay card for another 2% off total bill.

 

 

 

[sgmaven]

Anyway, let's get back to the topic of Sheng Siong and FairPrice. I have to admit that I hardly shop at the former, since I have a 24-hour FairPrice outlet less than 5 minutes' walk from my place, whereas the nearest Sheng Siong outlet is at least a 15 minute walk away. I guess it makes a difference when you aren't driving to and from the supermarket, but are physically carrying what you buy.

[HendryTan]

I removed all posts that were OFF-topic !

 

[Guest Antintuc]

I’m surprised nobody mentioned service. SS beats ntuc hands down.SS staff are more knowledgeable and service oriented when you need help. Ntuc makes you grovel for the discounts, anyhow point when you need help to find things. Like you owe them liddat. 

[SachaC]

I go to SS cos it's cheaper and a much wider variety of goods sold as compared to NTUC at my neighbourhood (NTUC is like less than a min walk away and SS is like 2 mins walk away). And if I can never find anything I want from either store, I'll go to Cold Storage.

[Why?]

2 hours ago, Guest Antintuc said:

I’m surprised nobody mentioned service. SS beats ntuc hands down.SS staff are more knowledgeable and service oriented when you need help. Ntuc makes you grovel for the discounts, anyhow point when you need help to find things. Like you owe them liddat. 

Absolutely. The SS staff has never let me down. In contrast, anytime you required those NTUC Aunties, they made the consumers appear very foolish.  Only then did I make the decision to utilize any self-checkout machine in order to avoid those staff members', but still cannot escape their killer looks if the machine hung on me.  

 

[sgmaven]

3 hours ago, Guest Antintuc said:

I’m surprised nobody mentioned service. SS beats ntuc hands down.SS staff are more knowledgeable and service oriented when you need help. Ntuc makes you grovel for the discounts, anyhow point when you need help to find things. Like you owe them liddat. 

I think it is down to the staff you get at the branch. The FairPrice that I go to has very helpful staff, helping to look for additional stock of items in the back of the store, when the shelves are cleaned up, checking prices, or even helping to locate items I cannot find.

[sgmaven]

1 hour ago, Why? said:

Absolutely. The SS staff has never let me down. In contrast, anytime you required those NTUC Aunties, they made the consumers appear very foolish.  Only then did I make the decision to utilize any self-checkout machine in order to avoid those staff members', but still cannot escape their killer looks if the machine hung on me.  

 

I have never met FairPrice staff who looked down on me, even though I use a Blue CHAS card for additional discounts on Thursdays. In fact, there have been staff who even gave me advice on how to save more money, and point out special discounts.

[ejszaka]

10 hours ago, sgmaven said:

I have never met FairPrice staff who looked down on me, even though I use a Blue CHAS card for additional discounts on Thursdays. In fact, there have been staff who even gave me advice on how to save more money, and point out special discounts.

 

I don't think the word is look down on. They are just not service oriented and don't go beyond their call of duty. If you need their assistance, they are unlikely to be the friendliest. When they are busy packing stuff.. good luck to you. It's really like you owe them. SS staff will help and often accompany you to the location of the item you're looking for if it's available. No wonder they get rewarded with 6 months bonuses during the height of covid.  They really do deserve it.  

[sgmaven]

7 hours ago, ejszaka said:

 

I don't think the word is look down on. They are just not service oriented and don't go beyond their call of duty. If you need their assistance, they are unlikely to be the friendliest. When they are busy packing stuff.. good luck to you. It's really like you owe them. SS staff will help and often accompany you to the location of the item you're looking for if it's available. No wonder they get rewarded with 6 months bonuses during the height of covid.  They really do deserve it.  

I actually have had very good experiences with the staff at the FairPrice near my place. They are friendly, and will actively try to help you. One staff member actually saw I was carrying a full basket, when I was looking for sugar, and she was pushing a trolley, and asked me to put the basket on the trolley, while she brought me to the location where they had their sugar displayed. Isn't that good service?

[Why?]

8 hours ago, ejszaka said:

 

I don't think the word is look down on. They are just not service oriented and don't go beyond their call of duty. If you need their assistance, they are unlikely to be the friendliest. When they are busy packing stuff.. good luck to you.

I gave a staff member a lecture for refusing to assist a short elderly woman in taking an item down from a higher shelf level. The NTUC employee was too comfortable to lift her butt to extend an old woman's hand, which would just take a few seconds, while she was busy packing while seated on the floor. The elderly woman went on to "beg" the NTUC  employee. I couldn't tolerate the sight and  moved forward and assisted the elderly woman in getting her thing from the top shelf (not that I am tall). I then gave the staff member some words about how she should quit if she was not happy working there to serve.  You may think I am equally bad, but  I don't care!!!

[singalion]

On 11/26/2022 at 11:51 AM, Guest Silent Protest thru action said:

Be careful.  Sales, Promo...have been loosely used in corporate world.  Recently, I realised NTUC has considerably marked-up its price on many items.  I have also stopped eating out as much as I could.   The hawker in  my areas has marked up a simple bowl of noodle from $3.50 to $4.50 (small size) and an extra $20cts for the packaging if I bring home.  That comes to nearly $5.00 for a meal - which I could have 5 days of Korea instant noodles (adding eggs and vegetable).   I have also stopped eating at fast food and then made my own healthy sandwich at home.  

 

honestly, I am surprised that many hawkers maintained their prices at same level for very long...

 

the price increases are quite steep at the supermarkets.

 

Just take one unhealthy product such as a snickers bar, used to be 60 cents 10 years back, now at 1.60 and it will be reaching 2 Dollar soon.

 

Also plenty of brands reduce the quantity or size of their products but sell at higher price...

 

 

[singalion]

In my personal view, I m not sure if there is actually real competition when it comes to the food shops like Fairprice, Giant, etc.

 

They all come to the same price in the end for the same products.

 

Unfortunately, Fairprice has grown to big for any European competitor coming into Singapore.

 

When those Lidls and Aldi entered the European countries, the old brands had to slash their prices...

 

Here you have European brands that sell through Fairprice... so nothing will happen with prices going down

 

 

[sgmaven]

4 minutes ago, singalion said:

honestly, I am surprised that many hawkers maintained their prices at same level for very long...

I think some of it, is pressure by the government to offer cheap meals. I know of certain stalls that sell selected "sets" for about $2.50, but don't expect too much from that.

 

Also, I think many of the hawkers who have maintained their prices have reduced their portion sizes. I don't blame them for it. The prices for raw materials have gone up a lot, and many of the customers have a low tolerance for price hikes, so the best way is to shrink the portion.

[sgmaven]

3 minutes ago, singalion said:

In my personal view, I m not sure if there is actually real competition when it comes to the food shops like Fairprice, Giant, etc.

 

They all come to the same price in the end for the same products.

 

Unfortunately, Fairprice has grown to big for any European competitor coming into Singapore.

 

When those Lidls and Aldi entered the European countries, the old brands had to slash their prices...

 

Here you have European brands that sell through Fairprice... so nothing will happen with prices going down

If you think about it, the absolute size of the domestic market is small compared with many countries. So, there only that many importers/distributors that are needed to satisfy the entire market. Duplicating that supply chain could actually increase the cost of importation of goods, due to the drop in average quantity per importer/distributor.

 

The only food distributor that seems to be doing quite successfully, despite the prevalence of NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong, is the Cold Storage/Dairy Farm Group (includes Giant). That is because they usually market themselves as more "premium" compared with FairPrice and Sheng Siong, attracting another type of clientele.

 

Would Aldi or Lidis do well in Singapore? I doubt so, because they probably have to set up new supply lines to Singapore (not cheap), unless they take a rather long term view of this market. Tesco is a possibility, since they already have factories/OEMs in the region.

[singalion]

50 minutes ago, sgmaven said:

Also, I think many of the hawkers who have maintained their prices have reduced their portion sizes. I don't blame them for it. The prices for raw materials have gone up a lot, and many of the customers have a low tolerance for price hikes, so the best way is to shrink the portion.

 

for sure! (smaller portions). Some stalls went also to lower quality rice...

 

Certain components of hawker food such as fish on a mixed rice stall, the fish alone will cost 5 - 7 S$ alone. Years back there wasn't much price difference whether it was beef, fish or chicken...

[singalion]

47 minutes ago, sgmaven said:

The only food distributor that seems to be doing quite successfully, despite the prevalence of NTUC FairPrice and Sheng Siong, is the Cold Storage/Dairy Farm Group (includes Giant). That is because they usually market themselves as more "premium" compared with FairPrice and Sheng Siong, attracting another type of clientele.

 

I don't think it goes for Giant, there customers are same as the Fairpricers, while some products might be slightly more costly at Giant compared to Fairprice.

 

For Aldi or Lidl, while they changed the competition in UK, France, Australia etc, with the "service" appeal of locals, I don't think they would survive. (Aka pack your own grocery at the cashier, nearly no staff to ask something, boring shelf, own type of product packaging that doesn't look very appealing...

In Europe shoppers don't bother as long the as the product is good and competitive... in recent years Lidl managed to get more branded items into their stores and what I liked while traveling in Germany just recently was that Lidl through the opening of shops in France and England changed their product range, you will find French Cheese or jams, English Orange Marmelade (made in England) and other items which they did not have some years ago. the range got more "European"... in my view.

 

My most favoured discounter shops are actually in Belgium... it is always like walking through a Gourmet shop... (Delhaize, the (Belgian) Carrefour), just take the Pâté

section

 

 

 

not to forget their beer options also... 😂

 

https://www.delhaize.be/

 

 

 

 

[sgmaven]

I think it is far easier from Aldi or Lidl to set up in the UK, since the UK is far closer to their home base, where they can send most basic items from, until the stores get an idea of local preferences to start the localisation process. For them to set up in Singapore, it is not only risky, but the standard supply chain of canned, bottled or dry items will be quite long (all the way from Europe). All this for such a small domestic market in Singapore. And of course, they will have to set up a separate supply chain for the fresh items too. Starting from scratch won't be cheap or easy. All this for little upside...