Ms. Huda Salem Saif, Senior Communication Section Manager at Union Coop, confirmed that Union Coop, which is the largest consumer cooperative in the UAE, was and still is a distinguished choice for consumers to shop for food and basic products, due to its good prices and people’s confidence in the quality and safety of goods and products it offers, noting that the rumor of prices in Cooperatives in general being high is not true, but if there is a difference in prices between other shopping outlets and Cooperatives, it is due to the intensity of competition that has begun to increase in retail trade on a large scale to attract customers.
She explained that the different prices of goods in the markets are governed by several factors, including supply and demand, and intense competition between stores/outlets, as the market in the country, enjoys the freedom to buy and sell per consumer protection laws, and every cooperative, company or consumer institution has a certain strength to negotiate with suppliers, payment and the number of goods it buys. Therefore, the offers are varied, different and specific and selected in each outlet, confirming that the goods produced by Union Coop have fixed prices in all the branches to which it belongs.
She added that Union Coop was established to serve all segments of society and not for one category alone, but it is comprehensive in all its services and targets all social groups, as it provides many types of products that suit the budgets of all living standards of consumers, stressing that the shopper is conscious of choosing a high-quality product, and looks at the date of production of the products and their standards, further pointing out that Union Coop always seeks, with its service objectives, to fight the high prices of consumer goods, achieve stability, and provide competitive and reduced prices to its customers.
She also indicated that Union Coop has proven its ability to maintain the level of prices in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, through its contribution to limiting the rise in consumer prices and resisting the increasing trends of price hikes and being satisfied with an acceptable profit margin, to support the national efforts to combat the pandemic that swept the whole world.
She pointed out that Union Coop’s method is different in promoting products and goods, and provides shoppers with loyalty points through the “Tamayaz” program, in addition to constantly educating shoppers to develop purchasing patterns, as well as service objectives that are considered part of the societal goals, which are carried out in the field of humanitarian and social services.
She explained that Union Coop is constantly keen to provide competitive and discounted prices through its weekly, monthly, periodic and seasonal campaigns, and anyone can refer to its smart online store to know the prices daily, and as technology has evolved, anyone can know the prices in any store and compare them with any other store, such comparison shall be scientific and based on valid foundations and standards such as the validity of the product, storage operations according to international standards, and not comparing a product within promotional offers with normal prices… etc. are things that affect the price of the product, and she noted that proper comparisons in retail outlets should be through the value of the basket.
She stressed that Union Coop is keen to keep pace with the spirit of the times, develop work, be different, stay away from routine, pay attention to quality, and serve and protect the consumer, as it launches marketing campaigns aimed at protecting the consumer from cases of fraud in goods, and providing food and purchasing security for them, noting that the application of accurate standard specifications and quality assurance is the safety valve for the marketing movement and the confidence gained in Union Coop.
