Founded in 1903 as the Singapore Cold Storage Company,[1] Cold Storage was one of the first supermarkets in Singapore to offer its merchandise online in 1997. The number of regular customers has since grown from 6,000 in 1998, to more than 15,000 in 2012.[2] In 1992, DFI purchased the company.
SGS has awarded a HACCP certification to Cold Storage, for its quality and integrity in food safety.[3] As of 2022, Cold Storage operates 50 stores in Singapore,[4] located across the country in city centre, affluent suburbs and HDB (public housing) estates.[5]
History
Early years
Established in 1903 in Singapore, Cold Storage started as a small depot storing and selling mainly frozen meat.[6] Cold Storage was then known as the Singapore Cold Storage Company, and was the main manufacturer of ice in Singapore. Taking advantage of the booming ice manufacturing and refrigeration business, Cold Storage ventured into the ice cream business. In 1923, a small factory was set up at the Borneo Wharf of the Harbourfront district to manufacture ice cream under the Paradise brand.[7]
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. Cold Storage later shifted from counter-service to self-service, introducing the supermarket to Singapore.[citation needed]
Tropical dairy farm
In 1937, Cold Storage founded the world's first tropical dairy farm at the Bukit Timah district of Singapore, which aimed to produce fresh pasteurised milk. This farm, then known as the Singapore Dairy Farm, was situated inside what is now the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It kept as many as 800 cows. Pasteurised milk produced at the farm was packaged in pyramid-shaped cartons and sold under the brand Magnolia.[8][9][10]
Cold Storage is the Singapore's oldest established supermarket operator.[citation needed] It was the first supermarket in Singapore to receive the CaseTrust Mark introduced by the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) in 1998 which identifies companies that receive a high degree of consumer confidence.[citation needed] It was also the first supermarket in Singapore to receive MUIS certification for its supermarket operations at Causeway Point in Woodlands, thus providing Muslims with the assurance of Halal purchases.[11]
Recent years
In 1992, DFI Retail Group purchased the company, although no major changes were made to the Cold Storage brand.[citation needed]
Cold Storage Fresh (formerly Market Place, Jasons and Jasons Deli) in Singapore, Mercató was formerly known as Jasons Food Hall and had started business in 1975.[15] Now, It operates five stores in Singapore.[16]
Giant, a subsidiary of Cold Storage, is one of the largest players of the retail industry in Singapore as well as in Malaysia, having over 85 branches spread throughout the country. It was founded by the Teng family in 1944. Prices at Giant are significantly cheaper than at Cold Storage.[citation needed]
It was a former discount supermarket chain in Singapore, operating 50 stores located across the island in HDB estates and suburban malls.[18] It sells a range of cheap products and fresh food. In 2013, it was merged with Giant.[19]
A convenience store, convenience shop, bodega, corner store, corner shop, or superette is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as tea, coffee, groceries, fruits, vegetables, snacks, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery tickets, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers and magazines.
A grocery store (AE), grocery shop (BE) or simply grocery is a foodservice retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, and is not used to refer to other types of stores that sell groceries. In the UK, shops that sell food are distinguished as grocers or grocery shops
The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States.
DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong-based retail company with legal bases in Bermuda and Singapore. A subsidiary of the Jardine Matheson Group, it is a major East and Southeast Asian retailer involved in the processing and wholesaling of food and health and beauty products. Jardine Strategic, a publicly listed holding company, has an attributable 78 percent stake in the firm. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX).
Ingles Markets, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. As of September 2021, the company operates 198 supermarkets in the Appalachian region of the Southeastern United States. The company is listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IMKTA and is part of the Global Select Market tier of trading.
SuperValu, Inc., was an American wholesaler and retailer of grocery products. The company, formerly headquartered in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, had been in business since 1926. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods (UNFI).
Wellcome is a supermarket chain owned by British conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings via its DFI Retail Group subsidiary. The Wellcome supermarket chain is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being ParknShop.
Franklins was an Australian discount supermarket chain selling packaged groceries and perishables throughout New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. It sold the "No Frills" home brand generic products. In 2011 the chain was bought by Metcash and the stores were sold off, shut down or converted into new supermarket banners or other brands. The final store closed in April 2015.
NTUC FairPrice is the largest supermarket chain in Singapore. The company is a co-operative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The group has more than 100 supermarkets across the island, with over 160 outlets of Cheers convenience stores island-wide.
Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy is a supermarket chain with four independently owned stores, all of which are in Virginia. At its peak, Farm Fresh called itself "Virginia's Grocery Store" because it had stores spanning the state. Its headquarters were located in Virginia Beach and its largest presence was in the surrounding Norfolk/Virginia Beach metropolitan area. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based SuperValu. On March 14, 2018, it was revealed that parent company, SuperValu, would be selling 21 stores to Kroger and Ahold Delhaize. Currently, three Farm Fresh stores remain in operation under different ownership.
GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, doing business as Giant Mall, is a hypermarket brand and retailer chain now mainly in Malaysia, Singapore and formerly Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2016, Giant was the largest supermarket chain in Malaysia. Its parent company also operates Mercató, Cold Storage and TMC in Malaysia.
Big Fresh was a New Zealand supermarket chain. The first Big Fresh store opened in 1988 in Mount Wellington, Auckland. In 2003, the Big Fresh brand was shut-down by its owner Progressive Enterprises, with branches converted to Countdown or Woolworths, or shut down altogether.
Price Chopper was part of the Woolworths New Zealand Supermarket Group, alongside Woolworths and Big Fresh.
The Save Mart Companies is an American grocery store operator founded and headquartered in Modesto, California. It owns and operates stores under the Save Mart, Lucky, and FoodMaxx brands. The stores are located in northern and central California and northern Nevada. The company is owned by the Jim Pattison Group.
Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for about 10 percent of its GDP. The Indian retail market is estimated to be worth $1.3 trillion as of 2022. India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world, with 1.4 billion people.
Market Place in Hong Kong, Cold Storage Fresh in Singapore and The Marketplace in the Philippines is a high-end supermarket chain owned by DFI Retail Group. The chain also has a joint venture in mainland China with Beijing Hualian Group called BHG Market Place and formerly ran stores in Taiwan until they were sold to Carrefour. The Malaysian chain called Mercató is owned by Macrovalue Sdn Bhd. after its acquisition of DFI Malaysian food retailing business in 2023.
PT Hero Supermarket Tbk, commonly known as Hero, is one of Indonesia's largest retailer groups, which operates Hero hypermarkets and supermarkets, Guardian Healthy & Beauty Stores and IKEA. It is a subsidiary of DFI Retail Group and is indirectly owned by Jardine Matheson.
Magnolia is a brand of dairy products owned by Singaporean multinational conglomorate Fraser and Neave (F&N). Aside from Singapore, the product is also sold in several other countries throughout the Asia-Pacific as well as at Asian supermarkets in non-Asian countries.
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