New Cold Storage, Giant owners see opportunities to grow in Singapore market

Although DFI Retail Group has decided to offload its Singapore supermarket business to focus on other more lucrative businesses, the new owners of Cold Storage and Giant see new opportunities to expand their supermarket empire.

- Rosalind Ang and Kang Wan Chern

In fact, Datuk Andrew Lim and Datuk Gary Yap, co-founders of privately owned Macrovalue, which acquired the two supermarket brands from DFI for $125 million on March 24, told The Straits Times that the price tag for the two brands in Singapore is reasonable and rational, as it fully reflects the value of the business. They added that no debt was taken to fund the acquisition.

The pair will have high customer expectations to meet, though.

Speaking to ST at the Cold Storage in Novena Square, where she was out shopping for granola, peanut butter and other organic products, Ms Rani, a 48-year-old secretary, said she is hoping that prices for these products, which are unavailable at her regular FairPrice and Giant outlets, will moderate under the new ownership.

"I don't often come to Cold Storage as the products are pricey, so I hope prices will drop with the acquisition," she said.

Ms Sivagami, who is 40 and works in administration, told ST at the same outlet that she is concerned about the continued availability of certain products "that can only be found here".

"I'm concerned about whether the brands I like will still be available, and am wondering if the new owners will bring in more Malaysian brands. The quality of the products is also something I think people might be concerned about," she said.