Retail pricing in Singapore

[poodlek]

I like to windowshop in the Harbourfront store, on more than one occasion I've talked people out of buying $800 strollers there. Kaki Bukit Avenue 1!! I still go in to look for sales. There are some things there that are priced close to normal. The strollers aren't it, though :-\

Occasionally they are. We missed a kind of quinny promotion in mothercare by a few days only and eventually bought everything at Kaki Bkt Ave 1 but the price was comparable IIRC. Besides, they still have good quality stuff that the others do not carry. I remember at the time where it was in our focus the choice of nice, robust cots was rather pathetic in the Baby Hyperstore comparing to Mothercare. Of course the price could kill you too.

I didn't buy a cot so I didn't look, but I'd take your word for it. There were many more cot choices at the adjacent place to Baby Hyperstore (I forget the name) in the same plaza. I suppose if you found a promotion, you could get lucky at Mothercare (which is why I still look, also it's close and has all major brands so I can check them out) but I have gotten two strollers and a car seat so far at Kaki Bukit at about 50% of what the identical item cost at Mothercare.

[Barnsley]

Sieng Shong had a 4 pack of Kit-Kat Cruncy for £1 , thats what it said on the packet anyway.

They were $2.80 , still cheaper than the norm here though so a relative bargain.

Oooh, British chocolate! Something of a luxury!

Seng Siong have the 4 Kit Kats for a quid still.

Sadly they are $3.50 , down from $4 though ...... which at todays exchange rates would be a 100% mark up!!

[JR8]

Curious they are from the UK. I thought all international brands (kit-kat, twic, Picnic, Mars etc) were imported from Australia, due to the Aussies using chocolate with a higher melt point.

Edit: When I wrote Twic, I of course meant to write Twicks

[nakatago]

M&M's sold here are now made in China! And these M&M's aren't good; Nips are better than these!

[poodlek]

M&M's sold here are now made in China! And these M&M's aren't good; Nips are better than these!

I noticed they were particularly gross. I prefer Smarties anyway, but even these aren't quite the same.

[JR8]

The best have to be Non-Stop from Norway!

They're made with dark chocolate, the shells use natural colours (not chemically derived), plus the shells are not too thick and hence sweet.

Verging on positively healthy!



p.s. Does M&M stand for Melamine and More in China I wonder?

[Barnsley]

Curious they are from the UK. I thought all international brands (kit-kat, twic, Picnic, Mars etc) were imported from Australia, due to the Aussies using chocolate with a higher melt point.

Edit: When I wrote Twic, I of course meant to write Twicks

I think that they are usually made in Malaysia, but the 4 for £1 are made in the UK.

Not sure where the Nestle plants in the UK are as I thought they had closed them all!!

[poodlek]

Curious they are from the UK. I thought all international brands (kit-kat, twic, Picnic, Mars etc) were imported from Australia, due to the Aussies using chocolate with a higher melt point.

Edit: When I wrote Twic, I of course meant to write Twicks

I think that they are usually made in Malaysia, but the 4 for £1 are made in the UK.

Not sure where the Nestle plants in the UK are as I thought they had closed them all!!

Maybe they were left over

[koss]

price is Singapore is relatively cheap for hi tech stuff , compare to many country . in my view

[aster]

M&M's sold here are now made in China! And these M&M's aren't good; Nips are better than these!

Have a guess where that new beer called Tiger Crystal is made.

Take a close look at the label on the bottle and ye shall see!

[nakatago]

M&M's sold here are now made in China! And these M&M's aren't good; Nips are better than these!

Have a guess where that new beer called Tiger Crystal is made.

Take a close look at the label on the bottle and ye shall see!

Sweden?

[movingtospore]

I think that part of the problem is that the locals, the rich ones at least, will pay anything for a label. No sense of value for money. I laugh my head off at how often I hear expats being blamed for high prices here. I call BS on that. Most expats I know, even the rich ones, are thrifty by nature and refuse to shop here unless forced to.

[BigSis]

Curious they are from the UK. I thought all international brands (kit-kat, twic, Picnic, Mars etc) were imported from Australia, due to the Aussies using chocolate with a higher melt point.

A lot of the Cadbury's choc is from Oz or NZ but some of it comes from the UK. Most of the Cadbury's Easter eggs we used to get here were from the UK - I haven't looked at them this year so not sure if they're still coming from the UK.

Mustafa sometimes sell UK chocolate too - I've bought Bounty bars there in the past.

[thismyvoice]

Following are some of the reasons why things in Singapore are more expensive.

1. Small market. No economies of scale. The price of importing a 20ft container and 10x20 ft container is different.
2. Differentiated pricing. Singaporeans can pay thus they should be charged more.
3. Logistic cost. Care to guess the price of a van in Singapore?
4. High manpower, rental and warehousing cost.

Yes, you can buy many things over the internet. Sites like Dealextreme is fast gaining popularity among the young. But for branded stuff, I guess most still prefer to buy from retail shop.

[aster]

4. High manpower, rental and warehousing cost.

Yes, you can buy many things over the internet. Sites like Dealextreme is fast gaining popularity among the young. But for branded stuff, I guess most still prefer to buy from retail shop.

Don't think I agree with you on the manpower front.

As for branded stuff, I still look to Amazon/6pm for most stuff, with the second place actually recommended to me by Singaporeans themselves...