Monday, March 30, 2009

STI: 24-hour marts

March 22, 2009

24-hour marts

Late-night shoppers welcome the opening of FairPrice Xtra and want more round-the-clock shops

By Tan Yi Hui and Cheryl Tan 

 

It is past midnight early one Wednesday. Most of Singapore is fast asleep. But Mr Robin Mak and his wife are taking their youngest child out for a late-night excursion.

 

They head to a brightly lit 68,000 sq ft destination packed with 30,000 things to see, which is open round the clock. It is not a 24-hour theme park, but the NTUC FairPrice Xtra hypermart in Jurong Point.

 

Opened since last December, it was officially launched earlier this month.

 

The size of 14 basketball courts, the $6- million venue offers a huge variety of products, from groceries and household items to furniture and toys.

 

The main draw is its operating hours. An NTUC spokesman says the 24-hour concept caters to 'the growing trend of shoppers who keep late hours and work night shifts'. Indeed, it seems the two favourite Singaporean pastimes - shopping and eating - have stretched into the wee hours.

 

Mr Mak, 39, who sells joss papers, ends work only at 10pm. Since it is the school holidays now, it means a more flexible bedtime for three-year-old son Bryan who is usually in bed by 10.30pm. He goes to playschool three to four days in a week and has to wake up at 9am.

 

Mr Mak's wife, Cindy, 34, who co-owns their business, says: 'This is the best time to take our children out. Also, when we finish work, we know there's a shop still open for us to get our things.'

 

The couple have three other kids and have visited the hypermart more than 10 times.

 

Before it opened, they went to Mustafa Centre in Little India to shop for groceries. They live in Choa Chu Kang.

 

LifeStyle visited the hypermart from just after midnight till 4am last Wednesday.

 

There was a sizeable crowd but numbers started to dwindle after 2am, and by 4am, there were barely more than 10 shoppers in the enormous place.

 

With bright white lights glaring from high ceilings, it was like a surreal wonderland. Elevator music played in the background as shoppers perused endless rows of market items.

 

One sleepless shopper was Ms Anthea Ong, 27, who is unemployed. She had travelled all the way from Changi with a housemate to stock up on items.

 

She says: 'I like that it's big and open 24 hours so there is no rush. When we shop for groceries at Parkway Parade, there are queues and at closing time, announcements bug us to leave.

 

'It's a half-hour drive for us, but they have everything here, just like Carrefour.'

 

Another late-night hypermart 'tourist' is Mr Kelvin Khubchand, a 55-year-old businessman who came with his son, wife and daughter-in-law 'just to check it out'. They live in the east.

 

They love the 24-hour concept and wide variety, although they say there should be clearer signs to show where the hypermart is located.

 

Mr Khubchand's son, Mahesh, 28, says: 'We parked on the other side of the mall and had to come all the way here and ask around for directions.'

 

The hypermarket is on the third floor of Jurong Point and shoppers have to find their way through dim corridors and floors of closed shops to reach it.

 

The first time the Mak family came, they spent 35 minutes looking for the place and gave up. They came back a second time with Mr Mak's brother who showed them the location.

 

Late-night shopping started in 1985 with the 24-hour supermarket Yokoso at Tanjong Katong Complex, which failed to take off.

 

Mustafa implemented the 24-hour hypermart concept in 2003. A spokesman says its late-night peak period is 11pm to 3am.

 

He says: 'Singapore's market is quite small to allow many retail players to be financially feasible, operating 24 hours on a large scale', adding that after midnight sales comprise 30 per cent of daily revenue.

 

A spokesman for Giant hypermart says branches are open till late, but it has no plans to go 24 hours as it is 'not cost-effective and not productive'. It is the same for Carrefour, which has outlets at Plaza Singapura and Suntec City.

 

Still, some supermarkets are picking up on the always-open concept.

 

Since last year, FairPrice has had two other 24-hour outlets at Compassvale and Clementi. Cold Storage has three 24-hour supermarkets, and Shop N Save has 21 round-the-clock outlets islandwide.

 

A spokesman for Cold Storage and Shop N Save chains says: 'We have observed that there are many people working shifts in the estates, or who shop after their late-night dining.'

 

Late-night diners will be pleased to know that the Kopitiam Group, which has a chain of 24-hour food courts, plans to open two more outlets, on top of its current 24. Kopitiam introduced its 24-hour concept over two decades ago.

 

Fast-food chain McDonald's, which started 24-hour services in 2005, now also offers 24-hour delivery, with over 70 per cent of its outlets here open round the clock daily or on weekends.

 

McDonald's communications director Linda Ming says this is due to 'changing lifestyle needs' of customers.

 

Kopitiam spokesman Ng Pei Ling says: 'There is definitely potential for 24-hour businesses in Singapore.'

 

Round the clock

 

LifeStyle picks out other 24-hour chains for your nightly binges:

 

WHERE TO SHOP

 

Cold Storage

Katong Mall: 112 East Coast Road, 01-31 Katong Mall

Holland Village: 223 Holland Avenue, 01-05 Holland Shopping Centre

Cold Storage Specialty @ Serangoon: 57 Serangoon Garden Way

 

Shop N Save

Ang Mo Kio: Block 525, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, 01-2401/2403/2405

Toa Payoh: Block 181 Toa Payoh Lorong 4, 01-602/610

Bedok: 348 Bedok Road, 01-01 Bedok Market Place

Bukit Batok: Block 284 Bukit Batok East Avenue 3, 01-251

For information on other 24-hour Shop N Save outlets, go to www.coldstorage.com.sg/corporate/storelocations.aspx

 

Jasons

1 Claymore Drive, 01-01 Orchard Towers

 

WHERE TO EAT

 

Kopitiam

Kopitiam Plaza By The Park: 51 Bras Basah Road

Lau Pa Sat Festival Market: 18 Raffles Quay

Kopitiam City: Compassvale Link (next to Buangkok MRT station)

 

Coffee Club

Changi Airport Terminal 3: L2LF1

Orchard Fountain Corner: No. 323 Orchard Road

 

Banquet

Xin Char Chan Teng @ Jurong Point: 01-17/17A/C-H Jurong Point

Banquet @ Balestier Market: 411 Balestier Road

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