Hypermarts and shopping carts

The local hypermart scene is surely getting rosier. Remember when Carrefour first opened its shutters at Suntec City, how you and I heaved in awe the concept of having a supermarket (with a name that deserves a 'how do you pronounce it' contest not withstanding) and a whole lot more all in the same store. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing in Carrefour and still do very much in fact (minus the very audible in-store durian peddler). The Carrefour experience certainly raised the bar for groceries shopping in Singapore.

Hypermarts are sprouting out faster than Fox network can roll out another "American Idol" from the production line. Recently, I managed to pay a visit to 2 of the newest additions by 2 major players vying for what they hope is an 'xtra' (pardon the pun) piece of consumer pie. Hope my brief review on each of my encounters can come in handy.

(Entrance of FairPrice Xtra)

First up, local supermarket juggernaut FairPrice's latest foray into the hypermart competition. FairPrice Xtra Ang Mo Kio Hub began operations in Dec '06. I went down on Wednesday evening (21 March) to have a little walkabout.

Location:

53 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, Ang Mo Kio Hub, B2-26

Accessibility:
Lotsa Buses from AMK Bus Interchange and along the busy AMK Ave 3. Besides, there's an under-pass from AMK MRT Station

Parking Facilities:
Basement carpark with an electronic display for the number of available lots at the entrance. Down the spiral drive and into ample parking. Navigating in the carpark though can be a
P-plater's nightmare. Think narrow drive lanes and having to negotiate the crank course in driver's school, except instead of multiple rubber cones and wooden poles, you get seemingly infinite full concrete pillars.

Shopping Experience:
Sections are well differentiated with helpful labels placed conspiciously. Spacious setting makes walking around the store a leisure process akin to a walk in the park with neat block stacks and gondolas for trees. One of the many little details that impresses me is the fact that the staff are very alert and quick to remove the 'odd' item from the displays. You know the kiwi kleen in the can food shelving kind of stuff.

(Foody section)

X-Factor:
Checking out is a breeze. Once you've gotten what you had wanted, there's a total of 38 cashier counters (inclusive of 4 express lanes) at the end of the line. I for one hate the usual long queues. This makes the need for 'Chopping' (aka holding a place) in the queue while u need to make a quick grab redundant.

Verdict:

The prime location, roomy interior and hassle free exit works for me. Will go down on a weekend to see if the all-important impressive first date was no mere coincidence.

One of the many brands under the leading food and drugstore, Dairy Farm Group. Well-established as a label in the terroritories of our northern neighbours with a total of 73 Hypermarts and supermarkets there. In a short span of less than half a year, it opened 2 hypermarts in Vivocity and in Tampines, adding to the existing 4 outlets. Signs of an aggressive expansion plan? The newest located in Tampines had barely business for little over a week, I checked it out last saturday night (17 March).

Location:

The square marks its location in Singapore, right in the mix with the new Ikea and Courts Megastore. Not entirely helpful? Neither can I find anything on their website (more like a lack of an actual website). Yes, I don't have any road names for it. Very dependant on Ikea and Courts as a significant landmark.

Accessibility:

Shuttle busese provided. Essentially very near to the TPE exit 5, Tampines Avenue 10. However, road design coupled with impatient motorists who won't wait in line caused a major bottle neck resulting in what should have been a 5 min drive after exiting the expressways into a near hour long test of patience.

Carpark:

After taking what felt like an eternity, just to enter the carpark, you can't help but suspect that it does somewhat remind us of the lots provided by Giant's counterparts across the causeway. Finding a lot wasn't much of a problem with enough parking to go round even on the new hypermarts debut saturday night. This adds to the mind-boggling issue, "How was it possible that it took me so long just to get in? Exiting balances out the initial negativity, by adding an equivalent amount of irritation. Motorists and pedestrians alike, making for the same frontal exit from all angles and directions. If it wasn't for the auxilliary police road marshal giving directions, you might even have mistakened that you're actually caught in the weekend causeway jam instead.

Shopping experience:

Sister brands, Guardian Pharmacy and 7-eleven hold the fort on the first level while the main facility is located on the next. The building on the whole was swarming with shoppers and curious joes (that includes me as well). I was broken from my usual stride and into to making half-steps. The toilet (yes and that is the only public toilet for a facility of this magnitude) is well tucked out in the left hand corner beside the foodcourt on the 2nd level.

Onto the main event. True to what the name suggests, it does offer 'giant' savings for a host of products and giant variety to choose from as well. But in overall, its definitely no place for the claustrophobic. The shelves and aisles are quite compact and along with the large crowd, gives little room and time for leisure pacing or you might just earn yourself many 'tsks' from other shoppers who felt you were both taking up their time and denying them space. Shopping carts have little room to manoeuver (you can forget about the about turns). If you have children who enjoy rides in a supermarket trolley, this provides an innovative opportunity to improvise a bumper 'cart' ride to save yourself from another visit to the amusement park. Just try to offer your apologies and be sincere about it whenever you 'clang' any oncoming trolleys. The building certainly looks bigger from the outside and how I hope it wasn't an optical illusion.

X-Factor:

There is always Ikea or Courts megastore who are both just a stone throw away! You can also see it the other way round whichever suits you. Now you can buy your groceries and daily essentials while shopping for furniture and electronic products at these 2 easily recognisable household names. Though I did not have a chance to tryout the menu on offer, the resident food court offers a cheaper alternative from the Ikea cafe in the event when the need for a quick bite arises. It'll be a real plus if there's a shopping cart deposit area at the food court for those who have already done their purchase and are too lazy to push to their cars before having meals.

Verdict:In truth, there are encouraging signs that this can be a major force in the supermarket arena. I'm not entirely impressed but I'll leave my final judgement till after my next visit, perhaps on a weekday in hope for a more pleasant surprise.

While these supermarket powerhouse slug it out in the ring like heavyweight boxers turning on the style. Lets hope the 'fight' gets real interesting for us consumers (more choices, lower prices maybe?) and not end prematurely like one of those Mike Tyson bouts, the ones where a seemingly sizeable opponent gets knocked out in the first round. All the pre-match banters and trash talk would have counted for none. What a yawn that would be for all the hype generated.