<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Logo launch takes MM down memory lane
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>He unveils hip new emblem for FairPrice chain at outlet that he opened 35 years ago </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Lee Siew Hua
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MM Lee at the Heritage Wall of pictures and milestones with NTUC FairPrice chairman Ng Ser Miang (left) at the Toa Payoh outlet yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew launched the hip new logo of the NTUC FairPrice supermarket chain at its historic first outlet in Toa Payoh Central yesterday.
He had opened it 35 years ago in the days when profiteering was rampant and food prices were painfully high.
But he was all smiles yesterday when he hit a button to launch the logo and a vibrant red 'U' logo flashed on screens.
Two climate-controlled trucks rolled past on cue, honking festively.
Mr Lee later toured the supermarket, and lingered at a Heritage Wall of pictures and milestones. Included were black-and-white pictures of him and the Toa Payoh branch.
The new-look logo mirrors that of NTUC, which carries a hallmark 'U' that puns on 'you'.
So the revamped FairPrice identity 'reflects a deep-rooted relationship with the labour movement', said NTUC FairPrice chairman Ng Ser Miang.
And it reflects the promise to 'moderate the cost of living in Singapore'.
That promise was sealed on July 22, 1973, when the first no-frills outlet opened. Named NTUC Welcome, it still stands in Block 192, but is now part of a chain of 200-plus stores.
Even as FairPrice feeds the nation, Mr Ng indicated that the plan for 'overseas expansion' remains in principle.
FairPrice today also appears to connect with young people.
Personal assistant Neng Syarina, 23, sporting trendy grey contact lenses, was not born when FairPrice arrived.
But she said: 'It's not old-fashioned. I get groceries here, plus with discounts.'
Mr Gerry Lee, 53, FairPrice's deputy managing director of group business, grew up with the cooperative, having started at the Toa Payoh branch 31 years ago as a trainee supervisor.
He recalled that 'ah sohs' or middle-aged women packed rice in the backroom back then. FairPrice now bristles with technology - it introduced bar codes to the supermarket scene here in 1991 - and has progressed with consumers.
At the event, too, the NTUC Foundation presented a $3.5 million cheque to NTUC to help low-wage workers. The amount symbolises the chain's 35th anniversary. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>He unveils hip new emblem for FairPrice chain at outlet that he opened 35 years ago </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Lee Siew Hua
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
MM Lee at the Heritage Wall of pictures and milestones with NTUC FairPrice chairman Ng Ser Miang (left) at the Toa Payoh outlet yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew launched the hip new logo of the NTUC FairPrice supermarket chain at its historic first outlet in Toa Payoh Central yesterday.
He had opened it 35 years ago in the days when profiteering was rampant and food prices were painfully high.
But he was all smiles yesterday when he hit a button to launch the logo and a vibrant red 'U' logo flashed on screens.
Two climate-controlled trucks rolled past on cue, honking festively.
Mr Lee later toured the supermarket, and lingered at a Heritage Wall of pictures and milestones. Included were black-and-white pictures of him and the Toa Payoh branch.
The new-look logo mirrors that of NTUC, which carries a hallmark 'U' that puns on 'you'.
So the revamped FairPrice identity 'reflects a deep-rooted relationship with the labour movement', said NTUC FairPrice chairman Ng Ser Miang.
And it reflects the promise to 'moderate the cost of living in Singapore'.
That promise was sealed on July 22, 1973, when the first no-frills outlet opened. Named NTUC Welcome, it still stands in Block 192, but is now part of a chain of 200-plus stores.
Even as FairPrice feeds the nation, Mr Ng indicated that the plan for 'overseas expansion' remains in principle.
FairPrice today also appears to connect with young people.
Personal assistant Neng Syarina, 23, sporting trendy grey contact lenses, was not born when FairPrice arrived.
But she said: 'It's not old-fashioned. I get groceries here, plus with discounts.'
Mr Gerry Lee, 53, FairPrice's deputy managing director of group business, grew up with the cooperative, having started at the Toa Payoh branch 31 years ago as a trainee supervisor.
He recalled that 'ah sohs' or middle-aged women packed rice in the backroom back then. FairPrice now bristles with technology - it introduced bar codes to the supermarket scene here in 1991 - and has progressed with consumers.
At the event, too, the NTUC Foundation presented a $3.5 million cheque to NTUC to help low-wage workers. The amount symbolises the chain's 35th anniversary. [email protected]
