1. Cold Storage a. Overview The name “Cold Storage” is an icon and its story is unique in the corporate histories of Singapore. The Company had humble beginnings – a small depot storing and selling mainly frozen meat from Australia. From that, it has grown to become the premier player in retailing in Singapore. Established in 1903, Cold Storage was the child of the Industrial Revolution and Pax Britannica, when Singapore was the “Clapham Junction of the Eastern Seas”.
Together with electricity and refrigeration, it allowed European agents of change – the colonial civil servants, merchants, miners, planters, traders – to acclimatise to living in the tropics. It can thus be said that if there were no Cold Storage the modern history of Singapore would probably be quite different. In its early days, the Company’s primary concern was to have a quick and profitable turnover of its imported meats and range of products.
Later, Cold Storage shifted from counter-service to self-service, introducing the supermarket to Singapore. Then the Company pioneered the concept of multiple retailing, capitalising on bulk buying and economies of scale. Always, the strategy is to bring Cold Storage to be where consumers are. As the island’s oldest established supermarket operator with over 100 years of experience in Singapore, Cold Storage the market leader in Singapore, constantly introduced new store concepts that set clear industry standards.
It was the first supermarket in Singapore to receive the CASE TRUST mark introduced by CASE in 1998 to distinguish companies that receive a high degree of consumer confidence Cold Storage was the first supermarket in Singapore to receive MUIS certification for its supermarket operations in Causeway Point. In 1998, for the first time in Singapore’s history, a supermarket retailer was able to provide Muslims the assurance of Halal purchases.
In recognising the importance of freshness guaranteed, Cold Storage started the Fresh Food Distribution Centre in Singapore back in 1999, a composite multi-temperature warehousing for fresh and frozen food distribution. Cold Storage was the first supermarket retailer in Singapore to put a fully integrated system in place to ensure cold chain distribution system from supply chain to store level to ensure the safe handling of perishable items – from paddock to palate – every step of the way.
Cold Storage Operates 39 Cold Storage, The Fresh Food People supermarkets strategically located across the island in city center, affluent suburbs and HDB estates. Cold Storage, The Fresh Food People, is a firm believer of quality improvements. In recognition of its commitment to high food safety standards, SGS has awarded HACCP certification to Cold Storage – the global benchmark for the highest standards of expertise, quality and integrity in food safety.
Achieving the HACCP standard in food hygiene for Cold Storage is a significant stride in its continuous journey for excellence in putting a world-class system in place to deliver total quality with higher efficiency and increased customer satisfaction. So shop fresh. Market Place Operates 6 Market Place stores: Jasons The Gourmet Grocer, Tanglin Market Place, Paragon Market Place, Jasons Market Place, Market Place @ one-north and ThreeSixty Market Place.
Market Place is a full serviced retailer dedicated to offer the widest range of quality, good value, and international merchandise to satisfy the daily needs of its target customers in a relaxed and pleasant shopping environment Online Partnering with SingaporeONE (the nationwide broadband network), Cold Storage is the first supermarket to offer its merchandise in cyberspace in 1997.
The number of regular customers has since then grown from 6,000 in 1998 to currently over 15,000; ranging from housewives, working parents to professionals and secretaries. Cold Storage believes in the potential of electronic commerce which will help meet our objective of making shopping as convenient and as hassle-free as possible to our customers. Our House Brand First introduced with less than 50 items in categories such as rice, UHT milk, toilet paper and cooking sauces.
We carry over 1,600 skus of housebrand products under two house brands – First Choice and No Frills at Cold Storage, Market Place and Shop N Save supermarkets. We offer our consumers a wide variety of goods in close to 40 categories from fresh squeezed juice to wines to drinks, frozen, dairy, snacks, wines, rice & noodles, breads and cereals, household, papergoods, kitchenware . First Choice Launched 1999 August, to provide customers a Brand with a difference that consumers can trust.
Introduced to meet the needs and expectations of more discerning customers for products that have a quality that is equal if not better than the market leading brands, but can still walk away with a savings. No Frills Developed in 1993, to provide customers with consistent, satisfactory quality at the lowest price and to meet the value conscious customer’s expectations where the customer demands covers mainly basic necessities, consistent quality at low, low prices, Promoting The Nation’s Well-Being
As Singapore’s leading Fresh Food People, Cold Storage strongly supports the government’s efforts in maintaining high levels of health standards in the country. Cold Storage works in support of Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore to help educate and inform customers about food safety, and with the Health Promotion Board to encourage healthy eating with the “Eat 2+2 Program”. On top of a wide variety of healthier offerings, we also sell a wide selection of organic food and gluten and dairy free alternatives.
