Seedlings, chilli crab and tudungs are some items that
patrons of Giant Hypermarket Tampines can now buy from vending
machines.
VendMart, touted as Singapore’s largest vending machine
cluster, opened to the public on Wednesday (Oct 11) with 17 vending
machines dispensing items as diverse as popiah, fish food and hair
products.
Five of the machines are also available in Giant’s IMM
outlet, including a Giant Mystery Box machine that will issue a
slip of paper redeemable for a mystery item – such as a kitchen
appliance or an electronic gadget – worth more than the S$10 a
customer puts in.
With the exception of items from the Mystery Box
machine, the goods sold by the vending machines are not found on
Giant supermarkets’ shelves.
VendMart’s aim is to offer shoppers a fun retail
experience, said Giant Singapore’s marketing director Lim Wee
Ling.
“Vending machines are a trend that’s been sweeping the
world by storm and we saw an opportunity to elevate it (to) a scale
that customers have not experienced before,” said Giant chief
executive Ruald Swart.
The vending machines will be available at the Giant
outlets until December, and may continue beyond that if the
response is good. They may also be introduced at Giant’s Suntec and
VivoCity outlets.
Vendors pay a “nominal fee” – which they declined to
disclose due to contractual agreements – for the placement of their
vending machines. The space occupied by VendMart at Giant Tampines,
which is beside the escalator, was previously only used for
marketing campaigns.
Besides appealing to “very niche shoppers” such as
people who rear fish, VendMart also provides a platform for
start-ups, which may lack the resources to distribute their
products here, said Ms Lim.
For seedlings and gardening supplies firm Farmily, the
vending machine at Giant Tampines is its first and only retail
channel. Each gardening kit consisting of an eco-pot, soil and the
seeds of plants such as chilli, basil or morning glory costs
S$12.
The firm was started by semi-retired couple Mdm Teoh
Maw Eng, 64, and Mr William Leong, 67, who have been growing plants
in their public housing estate for almost a decade. “They didn’t
want to invest so much capital and didn’t want a shopfront, and
they don’t want to exert so much energy, so this is a very good
channel for them,” said their son Janson, 28.
The younger Mr Leong, who works in a chemical company,
said his parents are also able to track the inventory from
home.
Another vendor, Ms Amanda Aida Atan, who sells
Islamic-related products such as tudungs, jubahs (a long, flowy
robe) for babies and halal-certified tea, said a machine is less
costly than a brick-and-mortar shop.
“Non-Muslims can buy gifts for their Muslim friends
here too, if they aren’t sure where to go,” the 43-year-old
entrepreneur added.
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