Winning Strategies for the New Decade - Spar

Winning Strategies 

for the New Decade 

SPAR International, 

Rokin 99 -101, 

NL-1012 KM Amsterdam 

Tel: +31 (0)20 626 6749 

Fax: +31 (0)20 627 5196 

www.spar-international.com SPAR International Annual Report 2009

Managing Director’s Overview 

Winning Strategies for the New Decade 

The new decade will bring enormous 

challenges and opportunities for the food 

retail industry. Most economies will emerge 

from the global recession and will return to 

growth by 2011, but it will remain a very 

tough market. 

Contents 

Dr. Gordon R Campbell, 

Managing Director, SPAR International 

01 Managing Director's Overview 

09 SPAR International Board 

Success Stories: 

12 Delivering Value 

16 Expansion and Growth 

18 Retail Formats 

22 Developing Core Values 

24 Operational Efficiency 

26 Responsible Retailing 

30 SPAR Worldwide 

46 SPAR Partners Worldwide 

48 SPAR International Action Groups 

49 Statistics 2009 

Outlook for the New Decade 

As we emerge from the worst global recession of a 

generation it is clear that this new decade will bring 

very different challenges and the retail market will 

become ever more competitive. 

The banking crisis was brought about by the 

collapse of the property market and the failure of 

a number of leading global and national banks 

and financial institutions. This resulted in a severe 

economic crisis which engulfed the world’s 

economies like a giant tsunami and brought about 

a very severe recession. Retail sales in Western 

Europe are predicted to fall slightly in 2010 before 

increasing moderately in 2011. A decade of strong 

retail growth in Central and Eastern Europe came 

to a halt with sudden declines in 2009. 

Asian retail sales were less badly affected by the 

global crisis than elsewhere: China (+7.6%), India 

(+7.5%) and Vietnam (+9.1%) experienced good 

retail sales growth in 2009 although, of course, not 

as strong as in recent years. This trend is expected 

to strengthen in 2010 and 2011. 

We are now emerging from this global recession 

but very high levels of unemployment will remain in 

all developed countries and this, in turn, may result 

in a third phase of the crisis, a social crisis with 

unknown consequences. Although most countries 

are returning to growth it is clear that these growth 

rates will be low in the medium term. 

The developed world will continue to be burdened 

by elevated levels of debt. In this environment of 

high unemployment and tight credit consumers will 

remain very cautious and consumption patterns 

low. Indeed, some industry analysts predict that a 

low level of consumption will be the norm for at 

least the next 5 years. 

During the recession consumers increased savings, 

paid down debt and became much more cautious 

in their spending habits. The global economic crisis 

has resulted in a fundamental change in consumer 

behaviour with our shoppers placing an increasing 

focus on price and value. 

The economic crisis may now be ending but the new 

consumer loyalty to value will remain and the global 

pattern of high levels of consumer spending of the 

last decade will not return. Consumer spending is 

likely to be focused on necessities with spending 

on discretionary items remaining restrained. 

The challenges that SPAR faces in the new decade 

are very clear. In the US, the UK and most Western 

European markets, consumer expenditure will 

remain relatively weak. The major retailers in these 

markets are forecasting static retail sales in 2010 

and at best low growth rates in 2011 and 2012. 

We will see many changes in our industry as retailers 

compete to chase an increased share of a weak 

consumer market. We can expect increased price 

aggression from all players and further consolidation 

in the industry. The recent shift in market share to 

the discounters may continue in the near future. 

SPAR International Annual Report 2009 1

Superb fresh market at INTERSPAR Austria. 

SPAR UK react to consumer demands for lower prices and value. 

Powerful Gondola End focal in the Czech Republic. 

The opportunities for SPAR in the new decade 

are also clear. 

There are opportunities to: 

• focus our retail offer on the new value oriented 

consumer through pricing, promotion and private 

label strategies. 

• expand through acquisition and by entering 

new markets. 

• focus our marketing in a price aggressive manner. 

Shopping decisions are now made at home 

where the shopping list is drawn up and the 

shopping route planned. SPAR marketing plans 

must respond to this challenge. It will be necessary 

to increase our marketing to the home with 

leaflets and coupons and with newspaper, radio 

and TV advertisements. 

• improve our cost base through improving the 

efficiency of our operations with the introduction 

of new technology at retail and distribution levels. 

l 

• strengthen our core retail values by improving 

our fresh offer and providing outstanding levels 

of customer service. 

While considering the challenges and opportunities 

of the new decade it is also important to reflect on 

the performance of SPAR in the last decade. 

Looking back over the last ten years we can take 

great confidence from the performance of SPAR. 

The majority of SPAR countries achieved strong 

growth. This success is best illustrated by the SPAR 

Austria Group who achieved annual retail sales in 

excess of €11 billion. We also saw growth through 

new country development. 

The last decade has seen many countries invest in new technologies. 

New country development remains vital for the 

future success of the SPAR brand. In the last 

decade we have entered 11 new countries. Each 

new country makes its own unique contribution 

to the culture and development of the worldwide 

SPAR organisation. 

The large emerging markets such as SPAR Russia 

(2001) and SPAR China (2005) are already achieving 

significant scale. 

Innovation was a key focus during the decade. All 

countries innovated in store design and layout which, 

together with improved retailing standards, greatly 

improved the customer shopping experience. New 

technology was introduced to both retail stores and 

distribution centres which increased efficiency and 

improved customer satisfaction. 

Now is the time to look beyond the economic crisis 

and to develop Winning Strategies for the New 

Decade. However, first it is appropriate to review 

SPAR Worldwide in 2009. 

Review of SPAR Worldwide in 2009 

At the start of the year consumer confidence was 

at an all time low. It was clear that our shoppers 

were cutting back on expenditure and were basing 

their purchasing decisions on price and value to 

ensure that they got the most for their money. 

Consumers traded down to lower priced 

products by switching brands, purchasing more 

promotional items and buying more private label 

products. They could also switch to buying in 

discount stores and shop around for bargains. 

All of this required an immediate tactical response. 

In SPAR we responded swiftly to improve our 

value offer by strengthening promotions and 

lowering prices. SPAR Private Label ranges were 

expanded and discount ranges were introduced. 

All of this activity helped to mitigate the effects of 

the recession for our customers. 

The results have been impressive. The overall 

worldwide sales of SPAR in Euro grew by 5.4% in 

2009. This was an excellent result in such a difficult 

economic environment. 

A number of countries achieved exceptional 

results in 2009. SPAR South Africa continued its 

consistent strong year on year growth with retail 

sales increasing by 14% and hitting the 40 

billion Rand mark. With the Rand strengthening 

against the Euro this equated to €3.80 billion 

putting SPAR South Africa firmly in the top 

3 SPAR countries. 

SPAR Denmark enjoyed a sales increase of 

23% in 2009 resulting from the acquisition 

and integration of 73 new stores into SPAR. 

The introduction of EUROSPAR to Denmark will 

further strengthen the SPAR brand in 2010. 

The SPAR Austria Group, including Shopping 

Centres, again enjoyed very good results. The 

SPAR Austria organisation turnover was just short 

of €5 billion after an excellent 2.6% growth in a 

highly competitive market. All of the Aspiag 

countries; Northern Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech 

Republic and Croatia achieved sales growth in 

2009 despite very negative economic development 

in Eastern and Central Europe. 

SPAR Croatia grew by 31% following the 

acquisition of 4 Ipercoop hypermarkets and the 

doubling of store numbers to 13. SPAR Hungary 

grew by 3.9% to €1.47 billion in a market which 

declined sharply during the economic crisis. 

SPAR UK retail sales grew by 6.9% to €3.2 billion 

and store numbers increased to 2,577. This was 

a very satisfactory result in the increasingly 

competitive convenience sector of the market. 

SPAR Switzerland celebrated its 20th anniversary 

with a 3.8% sales growth to €372 million and 

hosted the annual International SPAR Congress. 

SPAR Greece grew sales by 7% to over €700 

million and also increased store numbers and retail 

selling space. 

2 SPAR International Annual Report 2009 


New Country Development 

The newer SPAR countries also performed well. 

SPAR Russia increased store numbers to 212. 

Retail sales exceeded €640 million which was 

excellent against the background of the crisis. 

SPAR China continued its strong growth with a 

45% sales increase to €285 million and retail 

area growing to 385,000m². The average store 

size in China is 5,000m². 

In India the economic crisis had a major impact 

on retailing and for SPAR it was a year of 

consolidation. A strong foundation has been laid 

and 5 SPAR hypermarkets will be opened in 2010. 

SPAR Poland and SPAR Ukraine experienced 

difficult trading conditions in 2009 but in both 

countries new structures have been put into 

place. SPAR Poland is now part of Bać-Pol. 

In Africa, SPAR Zimbabwe made a remarkable 

recovery and now has 62 stores and sales of 

€126 million. There are plans in place to open 20 

more stores in 2010. 

Steady progress was made in Namibia and 

Botswana where SPAR is the market leader. 

SPAR Nigeria will open its first SPAR supermarket 

in mid 2010. 

Expansion 

It is always important to expand and modernise 

the SPAR store network but this is particularly true 

during a recession. In addition to short term actions 

such as growing sales and price promotion it is 

vital to lay down the foundations for future growth. 

There were some excellent examples in 2009: 

In Austria 100 SPAR stores were modernised 

and 13 stores purchased from competitors. 

INTERSPAR in Austria achieved sales of €1.2 

billion from 61 outlets and in 2010 a total of 4 new 

INTERSPAR hypermarkets will be opened and 

6 modernised. 

Aspiag in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia 

and Croatia opened 12 INTERSPAR hypermarkets 

and 11 SPAR supermarkets. SPAR Denmark added 

73 new stores through acquisition. SPAR UK added 

30 new stores and launched 

EUROSPAR. SPAR Russia opened 28 new SPAR 

supermarkets and SPAR Greece converted 13 

stores into SPAR formats. 

SPAR Store Format Development 

The development of all 4 SPAR formats continued 

during 2009. 

• Hypermarket 

Worldwide, SPAR now operates 272 SPAR 

Hypermarkets which account for 15% of 

sales. Hypermarkets are the fastest growing 

SPAR format. 

• EUROSPAR 

EUROSPAR has also grown rapidly in countries 

such as Ireland, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland. 

EUROSPAR has always been strong in Austria, 

Italy and Spain. In South Africa SUPERSPAR, a 

similar format, has driven strong expansion year 

on year. EUROSPAR was introduced into 2 new 

regions of the UK in 2009 and further expansion 

is expected in 2010. EUROSPAR will be launched 

in Denmark in spring 2010. 

• SPAR Express 

SPAR Express is growing strongly in Ireland and 

Germany and has been introduced to Russia, 

Italy and Belgium. 6 trial SPAR Express stores 

were opened by SPAR Austria in 2009. SPAR 

Switzerland also plan to introduce SPAR Express. 

SPAR International published the new SPAR 

Express concept and design manual. 

• SPAR 

An international Flagship SPAR supermarket in 

Dongguan China won the Global Convenience 

Store of the Year Award in a UK competition 

sponsored by Insight and the North American 

Convenience Store Association. 

SPAR Private Label 

The expansion of SPAR private label ranges and 

especially the introduction of SPAR discount ranges 

has played a major role in enabling SPAR to deliver 

value. The most significant development was the 

introduction of S-Budget by SPAR Austria. 

SPAR Italy respond to changing consumer behaviour 

with a strong focus on local and regional products. 

4 SPAR International Annual Report 2009

Winning Strategies for the New Decade 

Adopting Winning Strategies for the New Decade will 

require that we fully understand and take into account 

the fundamental changes in consumer behaviour that 

have taken place during the economic crisis. These 

changes in consumer behaviour will continue well 

into the new decade. 

A strong value aisle featuring aggressive price promotions in ASPIAG Italy. 

Countries continue to grow market share through a mutli-format strategy. 

High levels of unemployment, tight availability of 

personal credit, an increased level of savings from 

disposable income and reduced household wealth 

will all ensure that consumer expenditure will remain 

low and that consumers will focus on purchasing 

the essentials. 

These fundamental changes in consumer 

behaviour have been identified in research 

published by, among others, FMI, IGD, PWC 

and Deloitte. 

They have identified that the new consumer loyalty 

is to value. Consumers are making more shopping 

trips, to more stores, are buying smaller baskets 

and are searching for value. All countries report 

an increase in the value of goods bought on 

promotion with the proportion in the US growing 

to 38% of value and 45% of items purchased. 

The figure for the UK is lower at 30% by value. 

Consumers are now planning shopping routes 

rather than making trips; instead of going on a 

shopping trip to a store they now plan a route from 

home, based on promotional leaflets and newspaper 

advertisements, so that they can purchase a range 

of promotional offers at different stores. 

Private label brands are now more trusted by 

consumers and are reshaping the value offer in 

store. Discount ranges are playing a vital role in 

meeting the consumer demand for lower prices and 

are enabling supermarkets to compete effectively 

against the discounters. 

In the store consumer behaviour is also different 

since the crisis. A high percentage of shoppers use 

SPAR continues to expand in the emerging markets. 

a list. If a product is not on the list it is not bought and 

shoppers are reluctant to try new products. They 

are comparing prices, focusing on the essentials 

and always looking for good value. 

These changes in consumer behaviour will 

impact strongly on the food retail industry in the 

new decade. We will also experience increased 

competition from both international and national 

chains and from the discounters and we can 

expect further consolidation in our industry. The 

weaker players will face business failure as we have 

already seen over the last two years. Those who do 

well during the recession will emerge stronger. 

Taking all these factors into account it is possible to 

identify the strategies that will win for SPAR in the 

new decade. 

It is possible to identify 6 Winning Strategies 

for SPAR in the new decade. 

1. Delivering Value 

The key retail strategy is to have a strongly focused 

price aggressive policy based round a powerful 

promotional programme and an extensive private 

label range. Our SPAR private label ranges now 

commonly have a number of sub-ranges including, 

discount, store brand (standard SPAR brand), 

premium, and organic and fair trade products. 

In the recession the development of a price 

aggressive discount range has been an essential 

component in delivering value to the customer. This 

has been actively developed by a number of SPAR 

countries but especially by SPAR Austria with the 

S-Budget range. 

2. Expansion 

Expansion is another key element of a winning 

strategy. It is vital that we continue to invest in the 

redevelopment and expansion of our store 

portfolios. Many opportunities for expansion will 

arise during the recession and it important that we 

take hold of opportunities to expand the SPAR store 

network. In recent years SPAR Austria has acquired 

chains in Hungary and Northern Italy; SPAR 

Denmark have acquired and integrated a 73 store 

chain; and SPAR Netherlands merged with Attent. 

SPAR International has introduced SPAR to 11 new 

countries in the last decade, with a particular focus 

on emerging markets. We will consolidate this 

development during the new decade and will also 

focus on opening SPAR in large emerging markets 

in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 

3. Developing the Formats 

The SPAR multi-format store strategy of hypermarket 

(INTERSPAR), large supermarket (EUROSPAR, 

SUPERSPAR), neighbourhood supermarket (SPAR) 

or convenience store (SPAR Express) have enabled 

SPAR to develop a strong market position in a 

number of countries (Austria 29%, South Africa 

28%, Slovenia 20%, Hungary 15%, Norway 10%, 

Denmark 8%). 

The introduction of additional formats (eg 

EUROSPAR in Ireland, Belgium and Norway) 

has allowed expansion into another sector of 

the market. 

We will focus on renewing the formats in terms 

of concept, layout and design to ensure that we 

adopt and integrate best international practice into 

all of our stores. SPAR International will continue 

to support this process through the Flagship Store 

Programme and the Store Design manuals. We will 

continue to develop Flagship stores in all formats. 

We will also continue to develop new ‘innovative 

product categories’ to add to the existing 

Treehouse ® , Censa ® and Kitsu ® concepts. 

In late 2009 the SPAR Express Concept and 

Design manual was issued and this will be followed 

by the SPAR Hypermarket Manual in 2010. The 

EUROSPAR and SPAR Manuals will also be 

updated. New manuals for Store Operations and 

Operations Training are also in development. This 

is all part of our ‘Passion for Food’, programmes 

which also includes well attended Travelling Retail 

Seminars and Retail Development Conferences. 

7 



4. Developing Core Values 

A price aggressive policy for SPAR is vital to meet 

the value oriented needs of the consumer in 

the new decade. However, while SPAR will offer 

discount ranges, SPAR is not a discounter. We will 

continue to develop our core values of freshness, 

excellent customer service and meeting local 

needs. Our aim is for all SPAR stores to have an 

excellent range of fresh foods across all 

departments. Consumers are seeking simple meal 

solutions and there is an opportunity for SPAR to 

develop a leading position in ‘Food to Go’ as SPAR 

already has in such diverse markets such as Ireland, 

South Africa and Russia. 

6. Sustainability and Corporate 

Social Responsibility 

While at the start of this new decade the focus of 

retailers is firmly on delivering price and value to 

the value oriented consumer, sustainability and 

corporate social responsibility remain firmly on 

the agenda. Our response to these two important 

issues will form an important part of the SPAR 

Winning Strategy for the new decade. 

SPAR International Board 

Leo Crawford Gerhard Drexel Henrik Gundelach Claudio Giannetti Knut Johannson 

The preference of consumers for local shopping 

over the large hypermarkets and supermarkets 

has emerged in a number of countries in recent 

years. This trend is driven by environmental 

reasons and a desire to shop locally for fresh 

and local products. SPAR is in an ideal position 

to respond to this trend with a large network of 

modern neighbourhood supermarkets. The results 

of this trend are particularly noticeable in Austria, 

France and the UK. 

SPAR has the world’s largest chain of food 

stores with the majority operated by independent 

retailers who know their local communities and 

their customers. SPAR is in a unique position to 

deliver personal customer service and this will be 

the key factor which differentiates SPAR from the 

competition in the new decade. 

5. Operational Efficiency 

SPAR countries have invested heavily in developing 

state-of-the-art distribution centres to maximise 

efficiency while keeping costs low. Transport fleets 

employ the latest technology to ensure maximum 

efficiency of deliveries with optimum use of fuel. 

Technology is also employed to optimise load 

capacity and vehicle routing so minimising our 

carbon footprint. Austria, Norway, South Africa and 

the UK are at the forefront of these developments. 

The implementation of best international practice 

in operations is supported by SPAR International 

through the work of the Warehouse, Transport and 

Retail Technology Action Groups. Continued 

implementation of best international practice in 

operations will be an important winning strategy for 

SPAR in the new decade. 

At the beginning of 2010 SPAR International will 

launch Strategy2Sustain outlining how the SPAR 

countries are responding to sustainability and 

corporate social responsibility issues. This is an 

outline of strategic objectives and programmes 

already in place. Later in the year SPAR International 

will hold a Sustainability Summit to agree a 

comprehensive strategy for the New Decade. 

Dr. Gordon R Campbell, 

Managing Director, SPAR International 

Wayne Hook Peter Blakemore Gordon Campbell Tobias Wasmuht 

The SPAR International Board met 4 times 

during 2009. The first meeting which was 

combined with the International Retail 

Guild Executive Meeting (InterSPAR) 

was hosted by SPAR South Africa in 

SPAR International Board 

Chairman: Leo Crawford 

Members: 

Gerhard Drexel 

Henrik Gundelach 

Leo Crawford 

Claudio Giannetti 

Knut Johannson 

Wayne Hook 

Peter Blakemore 

Gordon Campbell 

Tobias Wasmuht 

A 

DK 

IRL 

ITA 

NOR 

SA 

UK 

SPAR INT 

SPAR INT 

Johannesburg. The second meeting was 

held during the International Congress 

in Lucerne, Switzerland. The October 

meeting was hosted by SPAR Denmark 

in Copenhagen while the final meeting 

InterSPAR Executive Committee 

Chairman: Leo Crawford 

Members: 

Gerhard Drexel 

Karl Feurhuber 

Henrik Gundelach 

Finn Degn Ovesen 

Stefan Knäbke 

Leo Crawford 

John Clohisey 

Claudio Giannetti 

Martin Pircher 

Knut Johannson 

Bjorn P. Bendiksen 

Wayne Hook 

Dan Maluleke 

Peter Blakemore 

Kevin Hunt 


Tobias Wasmuht 

A 

A 

DK 

DK 

D 

IRL 

IRL 

ITA 

ITA 

NOR 

NOR 

SA 

SA 

UK 

UK 

SPAR INT 

SPAR INT 

was in Amsterdam in December. The 

main focus of the Board was on the 

continued growth and development of 

the worldwide SPAR organisation. 

Managing Directors Action Group 

Chairman: Gordon Campbell 

Members: 

Fritz Poppmeier 

Frans Colruyt 

Michael Østergaard 

Angel de la Torre 

Pierre Rizzo 

Willie O’Byrne 

Gianluca Di Venanzo 

Sjaak Kranendonk 

Nils Moesødegård 

Stefan Leuthold 

Jerry Marwood 


A 

B 

DK 

ESP 

FRA 

IRL 

IT 

NL 

NOR 

SUI 

UK 

SPAR INT 

9 



SPAR UK made selective acquisitions of other retail chains in 2009 

and introduced the EUROSPAR format to the mainland.

Success Stories 

Delivering Value 

All SPAR Countries have in the last year 

implemented ever more aggressive 

pricing based on powerful promotional 

programmes and extensive private 

label ranges. 

Competing in a crisis — 

SPAR Ireland 

The success which the Irish economy 

enjoyed came to a dramatic end in early 

2008 with the deepening financial crisis 

having an impact on consumer spending. 

SPAR Ireland moved with great speed to 

implement a comprehensive programme 

including negotiating price reductions 

with suppliers, undertaking new sourcing 

initiatives and significantly increasing the 

range and depth of SPAR private label. 

This focus on price and value has enabled 

SPAR Ireland to compete strongly. It also 

embarked on a major programme to 

improve efficiency across the supply chain. 

SPAR extends Private Label product ranges. 

The execution of this strategy has 

enabled SPAR retain its market share in 

this very competitive environment. 

One of the distinctive responses of 

consumers worldwide to the global 

financial and economic crisis has been 

a focus on price and value. They seek to 

Choose SPAR Value 

Quality you can trust! 

LOW 

PRICE 

ALL DAY 

EVERYDAY 

Discount offers complement the broad Private Label range. 

S-Budget introduced by 

SPAR Austria. 

SPAR Austria has a comprehensive 

Now private that’s label Smart programme, Shopping which with extends 

from SPAR for everyday groceries, 

through to Natur*Pur for organic; Vital for 

healthy lifestyles and the newly launched 

‘SPAR free from’ range of lactose and 

gluten free products. 

SPAR Austria recognised that in the 

new competitive environment it was also 

necessary to offer a range with the ‘lowest 

price on shelf’. The ‘S-Budget’ range had 

expanded to 130 products by the time 

of its first anniversary in May 2009. Such 

has been the success of the range that it 

has also been rolled out in Italy, Hungary, 

Slovenia, Czech Republic and Croatia. 

manage the spending of their available 

income. Price and value have always 

been on the agenda of SPAR customers, 

but a major consequence of the global 

downturn is that price and value 

have become defining issues for our 

customers. 

In SPAR countries worldwide we have 

experienced a changing pattern of 

consumer behaviour. We see consumers 

that increasingly use shopping lists, 

respond to promotional offers and 

increase their loyalty to SPAR private 

label. These new shopping patterns 

have been seen in SPAR supermarkets 

in widely varied markets from Tula in 

Russia, to Granada in Spain, to Galway 

in Ireland, and Ljubljana in Slovenia. 

In all SPAR countries major programmes 

have been implemented to provide 

our customers with the value and 

promotional offers they seek. We have 

also actively reduced our operational 

costs and passed on these savings in 

the form of lower prices. 

The images are low resolution 

positioned for concept purposes 

only - Please source 

final images and update artwork 

Example 

Choose SPAR Value 

Quality you can trust! 

LOW 

PRICE 

ALL DAY 

EVERYDAY 

Now that’s Smart Shopping with 

Major sourcing initiatives have been 

undertaken by SPAR countries. These 

include negotiating improved promotional 

offers; restructuring sourcing and 

1.- 

1.- 

Fact: We buy BIG. We buy DIRECT. 

We buy MORE to save you MORE! 

Now that’s Smart Shopping with 

1.- 

reducing operational costs; increasing 

joint purchasing activities; and most 

importantly investing significantly in the 

roll-out of SPAR private label ranges. 

SPAR International has supported our 

SPAR Partners in succeeding in this 

changed competitive environment. 

The joint purchasing activities, which 

are organised by SPAR International 

were strengthened and developed in 

the last year. 

The support included the roll-out of SPAR 

International brands to new countries. 

This has been driven by the facility 

to deliver mixed loads from a central 

warehouse. The SPAR International 

brands have been used extensively in 

country promotions: one example has 

been their central role in promotions 

run by SPAR Ireland, especially in 

EUROSPAR. 

The work on updating and amending 

the packaging to include nutritional 

information was finalised. As a result 

of this work, consumer confidence in 

the SPAR International range has been 

strengthened, which is reflected in the 

increased volumes achieved. 

Joint purchasing of equipment and nonresalables 

generates significant savings 

for SPAR countries, reflecting the 

benefit both to SPAR and our preferred 

SPAR Suppliers of buying together. 

choose 

own brands 

Leading 

brand quality 

at lower prices! 

The SPAR Private Label range is used extensively to differentiate, compete on price and build customer loyalty. 

The images are low resolution 

positioned for concept purposes 

only - Please source 

final images and update artwork 

Mantri Mall in India use red and yellow to clearly communicate Every Day Low Prices (EDLP). 



The return of the smart shopper is 

a clear trend. The smart shopper 

has been better informed and is 

increasingly value conscious, seeking 

to economise and obtain lower prices 

and value alternatives. In response, 

SPAR International has supported the 

increased marketing and communication 

of our value proposition. 

A communications campaign designed 

to deliver a clear value message was 

segmented into a two-tier approach. 

The first tier is a strong everyday low 

price campaign for our value range. The 

second tier employs the national ranges 

of own brand SPAR products supported 

by the SPAR International brand range. 

The two communication messages 

were clearly differentiated through the 

use of colour. The everyday low price 

range campaign incorporated a very 

strong yellow and red graphic style. This 

was supported by a tone of voice which 

emphasised how by buying together 

across Europe, direct from leading 

suppliers, SPAR offers greater value to 

our customers. 

The execution of this campaign included 

direct comparison of prices against 

the A brands. The physical placement 

of shopping trolleys of SPAR branded 

goods and trolleys of comparable 

A branded goods allowed the consumer 

to make an easy price comparison. 

This campaign was developed 

centrally in cooperation with members 

of the Marketing Action Group. 

This communication campaign was 

adapted and used to great effect by 

several SPAR countries. 

SPAR offers meal solutions in Private Label ranges. 

Excellence in Fresh and a commitment to Quality are an 

essential core value of SPAR. 

Focus on Price 

The focus on price and value has 

also reshaped how SPAR countries 

market to and communicate with their 

customers. There has been an increased 

focus in the media mix to ensure that 

potential customers are marketed to 

directly in their homes. 

Price advertising through leaflets, 

newspapers, TV and radio ensure that 

potential customers have all the price 

and value information available at home. 

Armed with information on promotions, 

special offers and private label brands, 

they can choose to shop at SPAR 

with confidence. 

SPAR Austria's S-Budget range offers 'the lowest price on shelf' and has been successfully rolled out to all ASPIAG countries. 

The shopping list is back and our 

customers focus on the necessities. 

Merchandising for impulse purchases is 

of less importance. 

Once instore our customers will find a 

strong focus on promotional displays of 

A brands and private label products. 

A key element in SPAR marketing in 

2009 has been the introduction of SPAR 

discount ranges which are prominently 

merchandised. However, the traditional 

focus on the core values of freshness, 

quality and service has been retained. 

Strong promotional activity is clearly communicated in INTERSPAR. 



Expansion and Growth 

International expansion is another key 

winning strategy of SPAR. It is vital that 

we continue to invest in growing and 

developing our business in existing and 

new countries. 

Powerful SPAR branding and feature entrance. 

Growing through acquisitions. 

SPAR partners have also made significant 

investment over the year in acquiring other 

retail chains when the opportunity arose. By 

making strategic decisions to acquire and 

integrate newly acquired stores into their 

business, SPAR partners have strengthened 

and consolidated their market position. 

Market scale and share are increasingly 

important in maintaining competitiveness, 

both in terms of growth and development as 

well as in securing the best prices available 

through purchasing scale in addition to 

having a market reputation and knowhow. 

Market scale and reputation is also critical to 

enjoying success in attracting and retaining 

outstanding management and staff. 

Among the SPAR Partners who have 

recently invested in growing their business 

through acquisition have been SPAR 

Croatia, with the acquisition of Intercoop, 

SPAR Netherlands merged the Attent Group, 

SPAR Hungary acquired Plus Markets and 

some years earlier acquired the Kaiser 

business. 

Within the last year we have seen important 

developments in Denmark, which has 

significantly contributed to the scale of this 

business, while in the United Kingdom SPAR 

Partners have taken the opportunity to invest 

in the selective acquisition of prime locations 

made available as a result of the ruling of the 

Competition Authority regarding a merger of 

two major chains. 

Selective acquisitions have also formed 

part of the strategy of SPAR Austria, SPAR 

Greece and SPAR Italy in building their 

business. 

This role was greatly developed over the 

last decade with the adoption by the 

International Board of a formal strategy 

which set out the strategic priorities 

for new country development. These 

included the decision to target Russia, 

China and India as key long term 

priority markets. 

Customers await a store opening in the Czech Republic. 

In support of the strategic focus 

on international expansion, SPAR 

International has deepened its capability 

to support new SPAR Partners in terms 

of access to international best practice, 

technical support and knowhow. 

Consumers not only seek value, but also want choice. 

ASPIAG continues to expand in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Expansion into India offers huge opportunities for growth. 

Support in retail design, layout and 

merchandising is provided through a 

comprehensive set of design manuals 

and also design support for flagship 

projects. The design team and retail 

operations team have been strengthened 

to provide ongoing support for new 

country development. 

The importance of the continued 

expansion of SPAR to new markets is 

fundamental to the continued growth 

and vitality of the worldwide organisation. 

The successful introduction of the SPAR 

partnership model of food retailing to 

new countries is consistent with the 

original vision of the early leaders of 

the organisation. 

The early expansion of the SPAR 

Partnership model to Belgium and 

Germany, after the foundation of SPAR 

in the Netherlands in 1932, was 

formalised in 1953 with the establishment 

in Amsterdam. This created a formalised 

structure, which was tasked to support 

the international development of the 

SPAR model. 

The pace of international development 

accelerated during the 1960’s and 1970’s 

with SPAR extending outside Europe, 

being introduced into both Africa and Asia. 

The expansion of SPAR into Central and 

Eastern Europe was pioneered by SPAR 

Austria which, having fulfilled its original 

goal of integrating a number of regional 

SPAR wholesalers and becoming a 

major food retailer in Austria, set itself 

the goal of becoming a major retailer 

in Central Europe. Aspiag, the new 

organisation established to achieve this 

goal has made significant progress, and 

is now a €5 billion business, operating in 

five countries. 

The introduction of the SPAR concept 

to South Africa in the middle 1960’s 

triggered the expansion of the SPAR 

model into Southern African countries. 

Today SPAR is active in a total of 

eight countries, with SPAR South 

Africa continuing to play a directly 

active role in four countries. In South 

Africa, SPAR has been transformed 

from an affiliated network of wholesalers 

to its position today as a leading food 

retailer, with a market share in excess of 

27% and is a leading performer on the 

South African Stock Exchange. 

SPAR International has also played 

a major role in expanding SPAR into 

new countries. In the last decade 

SPAR has been developed in 11 new 

markets with considerable support from 

SPAR International. 

Support is also provided in relation 

to the development of modern 

Distribution Centres and also through 

access to the buying services of 

SPAR International. 

Today, we see the fruit of this strategy 

with SPAR Partners active in developing 

their business in both Russia and China, 

while a platform for the roll-out of SPAR 

has been established in India. 




Retail Formats 

Global Retail Award 

SPAR pioneered a multi-format retail approach 

under the one brand umbrella strategy of 

SPAR in the 1970’s. Over the past decades 

this strategy has allowed SPAR to create new 

market opportunities through the exploitation 

of the clearly differentiated formats. 

Neighbourhood retailing remains a cornerstone of SPAR. 

SPAR won the Global Convenience Format 

of the year award for the international SPAR 

Flagship store in Barrow Street in Dublin, 

Ireland in 2007. 

Drawing on this experience SPAR 

International worked together with 

SPAR China to develop a highly modern 

Convenient SPAR Supermarket format 

in China which broke existing market 

conventions. 

The initial store launched in Dongguan, 

Guangdong province included the 

category innovations of Treehouse ® Juice 

and Smoothie Bar, Kitsu ® Noodles and a 

SPAR Café coffee solution. In addition a 

specially formulated local offer of live fish, 

market style fresh in combination with 

extensive Chinese dim sum specialities was 

developed in the ‘Food to Go’ section. 

The store was laid out to key shopping 

missions of Enjoy Now, Take Home and 

Stock Up which included the introduction 

of a central Enjoy Now Cockpit at the front 

of the store. The result is a true mix of best 

of global and local. The format on average 

records a 50% higher return per m 2. 

The store has won national and international 

acclaim, and was awarded the Global 

Convenience Format of the year by Insight 

and the North American Convenience Store 

(NACS) as well as receiving the China Retail 

Industry Innovation award by the CCFA. 

More importantly the format is proving 

to be highly popular amongst customers 

throughout China and the format has 

expanded from the initial flagship store 

in Dongguan to Shandong and Shanxi 

province in Northern China. 

Today, the experience and 

specialist knowledge of operating 

neighbourhood supermarkets (SPAR), 

large supermarkets (EUROSPAR, 

SUPERSPAR), SPAR hypermarkets 

(INTERSPAR) and SPAR Express is 

shared and used collectively. 

The SPAR group worldwide develop 

and grow market share by allowing 

individual countries to draw upon 

existing formats. This expedites their 

introduction and launch into the market 

place. A further advantage is that new 

developing markets are in a position to 

jump several phases of market evolution 

thus innovating and taking a step ahead 

of competition in the marketplace. 

The central role of SPAR International 

allows countries to draw upon this 

experience and to use award winning 

design, operations and consultancy. 

They can implement leading edge 

modern retail formats through the 

international flagship store programme. 

SPAR 

The core SPAR supermarket format 

has led a renaissance in neighbourhood 

retailing, through constant modernisation 

of stores across Europe. The majority of 

SPAR stores are independently owned 

and operated. As a result SPAR has 

a place in the heart of the community, 

being close to its customers in location 

and also in values. 

The evolution of the SPAR format has 

seen the introduction of new category 

innovations providing new product 

categories such as juice and smoothies, 

coffee, extensive ‘Food to Go’ including 

a greater exposure to tastes of the world 

with such concepts as Kitsu ® Asian 

noodles. Re-developed and modernised 

stores have seen a marked increase in 

sales and return on investment and have 

been key to ensuring the competitiveness 

of SPAR. 

Application of modern materials combined with strong architectural features. 

'Food to Go' in the award-winning SPAR Hongtu store. 

SPAR Denmark open 18 EUROSPAR's on the same day. 

EUROSPAR 

A key strength of SPAR worldwide is 

the rapid implementation of tried and 

tested formats into new developing 

markets, thereby allowing these partners 

to jump ahead of their competitors and 

introduce new retail shopping 

environments and customer experiences. 

Throughout the last decade we have 

witnessed the continuous growth of 

EUROSPAR, our larger supermarket 

format for stores over 1000m 2 , in Austria, 

Italy and Spain and also in Southern 

Africa where this format is called 

SUPERSPAR. 

Following the launch of EUROSPAR in 

Ireland in 2004, the format has grown 

from strength to strength and has grown 

to account for an increasing proportion 

SPAR Ireland continue to focus on key fresh departments. 

of total retail sales. In a period of some 

six years more than 50 EUROSPAR 

supermarkets have been opened. 

In neighbouring Northern Ireland 

EUROSPAR has rapidly expanded in 

size and number. 2009 saw the 

launch of EUROSPAR in England 

and Wales. 

EUROSPAR has also been successfully 

launched in recent years in Switzerland, 

Belgium and Norway. 

EUROSPAR will be launched in 

Denmark with the opening of 18 

EUROSPAR stores in a single day. SPAR 

Denmark are the 20th country to 

launch EUROSPAR. 



SPAR Express 

SPAR has a position as leader in 

convenience in such markets as the 

United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2009 

SPAR Austria also entered into the 

convenience sector through the launch 

of SPAR Express Convenience stores 

in conjunction with petrol forecourts in 

Graz, Linz and Salzburg. 

In Austria, where Sunday opening 

is tightly regulated, SPAR Express 

provides customers with everything they 

need when they need it, with extended 

opening hours and a highly convenient 

product assortment. The success of the 

store is also due to providing attractive 

supermarket level prices in combination 

with an extensive own brand range. 

SPAR Express convenience stores are 

expanding with changing demographics 

and the continued rise of single and two 

person households, especially in transient 

locations such as forecourts, railway 

stations, airports and city centres. 

Fresh focus in Austria's SPAR Express Convenience stores. 

The SPAR Express format continues to expand in Australia. 

In 2009, SPAR Express was effectively 

expanded in Belgium and Austria and 

has grown rapidly in a short period of 

time. 

The INTERSPAR hypermarket in Hollabrunn, 

Austria is clearly visible with its strong totem, 

powerful brand and feature entrance. 

Clear price communications support the fresh offer. 

INTERSPAR 

The INTERSPAR hypermarket is the 

largest SPAR format. Most prominent 

throughout central Europe, there are a 

total of 274 hypermarkets operating in 

Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, 

Slovenia, Croatia, China and India. 

These hypermarkets, which had total 

sales of €4.3 billion in 2009, account for 

a growing proportion of SPAR sales. 

Colourful ceiling features contribute to the fresh market feel in this Fruit and Veg department. 

SPAR Austria in conjunction with its 

daughter company SPAR European 

Shopping Centres (SES) has won 

international acclaim for its ground 

breaking architecture and design and 

has led the innovation of INTERSPAR 

retailing with SPAR. 

This experience has provided a 

strong base for the new emerging 

markets of China, India and Russia 

to draw upon. Since its launch in 2005, 

SPAR China has opened a total 

of 57 hypermarkets. In 2009, 20 

hypermarkets were opened and the 

pace of development is accelerating 

as SPAR takes a leading role in the 

modernising of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities 

of China. 

After the successful introduction in 

2008, SPAR India in conjunction 

with SPAR International opened the 

7,000m 2 international flagship SPAR 

hypermarket in the largest shopping 

mall in India. 

The resulting Mantri Mall SPAR 

hypermarket provides the model 

for roll-out expansion in India, with 

SPAR to launch hypermarkets ahead 

of international competition in a 

series of key cities in India in 2010. 

20 SPAR International Annual Report 2009


Developing Core Values 

SPARkling Service 

The history of the development of 

SPAR has been underpinned by a 

constant set of values that have guided 

the organisation from its inception in 

1932. At the heart of these core values 

are excellence in fresh, outstanding 

customer service and meeting local 

needs. These core values are always 

underpinned by genuine great prices. 

SPARkling Service is an initiative which 

has been rolled out to support the training 

of store assistants in customer service. 

The Human Resources Directors of 

the 6 SPAR UK Wholesale Companies 

developed a training solution to provide 

a new approach to customer service 

training and development. It was 

decided that the solution should be 

unique to SPAR and easy to implement 

in stores. The initiative has been branded 

SPARkling Service. 

SPAR UK have a mix of independent 

retailers and wholesaler owned retail 

stores which can result in a widely 

varied level of training in areas such as 

customer service. SPARkling service 

defines service standards required to 

meet SPAR customers’ expectations. 

Based on these standards, 6 short 

training modules were designed titled: 

1. Choosing your attitude 

2. Think like a customer 

3. Customer contact 

4. Our place in the community 

5. Silent service 

6. Your Sparkling service 

The training was based on a 'Train 

the Trainer' principle where Owners/ 

Managers were trained and then 

delivered the training instore. 

Thumbs up to excellent customer service. 

A superb Fish department Italian style. 

SPAR Norway team up with local suppliers for fresh. 

At SPAR we are the heart of the community. 

Excellence in fresh is a core value at SPAR. 

Freshness is a consistent value of SPAR across all formats. 

Service with a smile makes shopping at SPAR a pleasure. 

The Core Values of SPAR 

The core values of SPAR remain as valid 

and relevant today as they were some 8 

decades ago. The SPAR concept was 

established on the basis that working 

in partnership was to the benefit of 

customers, retailers, wholesalers and 

the food industry. 

At the heart of this partnership is a 

commitment to the open exchange 

of knowledge and information, which 

continues to be a hallmark of SPAR. The 

commitment to sharing information and 

experience is intimately connected to 

the sense of SPAR as a family. 

In our stores, SPAR worldwide is 

committed to excellence in fresh, an 

unrelenting passion for quality and 

outstanding customer service. We 

support the implementation of these values 

through a comprehensive programme 

of people development supported by 

the necessary infrastructure, standards 

and procedures. 

Over the years the values have been 

refined and developed to ensure that 

they continue to guide how SPAR meets 

the day-to-day shopping needs of our 

customers. The success and continued 

growth of SPAR will be determined by 

how we continue to ensure that our 

values are aligned with the values of 

our customers. 

Freshness, customer service 

and meeting local needs 

The focus on freshness, quality and 

customer service is the point of 

difference of SPAR from other retailers. 

This difference is rooted in our origins as 

independent local retailers serving the 

local community. 

SPAR today has developed its 

retail formats beyond that of local 

neighbourhood retailing. Today it offers 

a comprehensive food retail offer tailored 

to the needs of local consumers’. 

Thus SPAR retains its unique strength of 

being focused on meeting local needs 

with a commitment to excellence in 

fresh, a passion for quality and best in 

class customer service. 

Price and value is always high on the 

agenda of our customers and is always 

a fundamental part of our retail offer. 

SPAR will always ensure that exceptional 

value is delivered to our customers but 

we also understand that freshness, 

quality and outstanding customer 

service are critical and this is our point 

of difference which is embedded in 

our values. Building on these values 

will support the continued success of 

SPAR worldwide. 

Being global but local remains a key 

strategy of SPAR in the new decade. 




Operational Efficiency 

The continued implementation of 

international best practice in operations will 

be an important winning strategy for SPAR 

in the new decade. This focus on best 

practice will ensure that SPAR enjoys the 

advantages of a low cost efficient supply 

chain. 

SPAR Guangdong mark the opening of their new DC. 

Green Transport 

The Annual Suppliers Round Table was 

the venue for an excellent example of the 

sharing of knowledge within SPAR. An 

important challenge for SPAR Netherlands 

was to improve the quality of its frozen 

foods distribution. 

SPAR International identified a recent 

development by SPAR Norway which had 

adopted a new technology in refrigeration 

which was being pioneered by one of the 

SPAR Preferred suppliers. 

The new technology offered both 

improved performance and also reduced 

greenhouse gas emissions. Following 

a detailed study the new cryogenic 

technology was introduced with great 

success in the Netherlands, which 

received a national award for pioneering 

this technology in the Netherlands. 

The economic crisis has placed an 

increasing importance on the work of 

SPAR International in identifying and 

sharing international best practice. 

Through the early adoption of best 

practice and benefiting from the 

knowledge and knowhow of SPAR 

partners, it is possible to roll-out new 

projects more quickly and avoid some 

of the costs associated with poorly 

executed projects. 

The major forum through which 

knowledge and experience is exchanged 

within SPAR is through the annual LOGIT 

Conference, through the Action Groups 

and also the circulation of reports and 

newsletters. The SPAR Connect intranet 

site is playing an increasingly important 

role as a library and reference point for 

information. 

The 2009 LOGIT was tailored to the 

challenge facing SPAR management 

‘Doing More for Less’. Initiatives in the 

IT area included major organisational 

restructuring to make better and more 

efficient use of the skills and expertise 

available within the group. 

Examples of new initiatives varied 

widely extending from the introduction 

of new software solutions to buying 

departments, to improving performance 

and lowering costs, through to 

investment in modern retail technology. 

Among the logistics projects presented 

were reports on development in 

automated transport within Distribution 

Centres. Road transport is another area 

which is experiencing large reductions in 

cost and improved customer service as a 

result of the increased use of information 

technology. 

Many of the case studies presented did 

not require significant investment, but 

did require a willingness to reengineer 

how parts of the business are 

managed. 

The results of the work of the Warehouse 

Action Group were presented at LOGIT 

2009 together with the framework for 

the Best Practice Manual which will be 

published in the course of on 2010. 

The work of the Warehouse Action 

Group, which was initiated in 2008, 

accelerated in 2009 with the holding of 

a joint seminar with senior management 

from SPAR South Africa, responsible for 

the development and operation of the 

new Distribution Centre in Cape Town. 

SPAR Guangdong's new Distribution Centre. 

SPAR Guangdong’s new distribution 

centre is an excellent example of SPAR 

working together in the implementation 

of best practice. SPAR International 

and the Warehouse Action Group have 

worked closely with senior management 

of SPAR Guangdong in the planning and 

design of this recently opened DC. 

SPAR Guangdong has rapidly expanded 

its business since joining SPAR. Today 

the company operates 20 hypermarkets 

in the province, has 6,000 employees 

and is growing at a rate of around 

30-35% per year. 

The company is aiming to more 

than triple its selling space to over 

750,000m² and to meet this ambitious 

target decided that it needed to put in 

place the necessary supply chain. A 

decision was made to invest in a modern 

distribution centre which would be 

flexible enough to manage future growth. 

The Warehouse Action Group worked 

with SPAR Dongguan to develop this 

DC. The distribution centre was built with 

the goal of delivering 100% of goods to 

supermarkets and convenience stores, 

and 70% of goods to hypermarkets. 

This is the second of the SPAR Partners 

in China to invest in modernising their 

supply chain. SPAR Shandong opened 

a 40,000m 2 modern Distribution Centre 

in Weihai in 2007. Modern technology 

deployed includes voice picking. 

On completion of this part of the 

work, the Action Group ran a technical 

workshop for SPAR Partners in China, 

who were advanced in their planning of 

new Distribution Centres. 

The holding of the workshop in a 

working Distribution Centre added 

a practical dimension to the major 

projects being undertaken by the SPAR 

China Partners. 

Retail technology continues to be 

monitored by the STOREIT Action 

Group. This group authored a report 

on developments in retail technology 

some years ago which identified a 

number of new technologies and 

examined their implications for SPAR. 

The sharing of learnings between SPAR partners is increasingly important, especially for Distribution Centres. 

By sharing this knowledge, individual 

SPAR Partners have been able to fasttrack 

implementation. 

SPAR International has increasingly 

become involved in supporting SPAR 

partners with the planning of new 

Distribution Centres. Project work has 

been undertaken in relation to new 

Distribution Centres in Russia and 

China. An increasing number of SPAR 

Partners have expressed interest in 

this service. 

This work is based on the best practice 

work and the application of the expertise 

which has been built up by SPAR 

Countries over the years. 

Particularly important has been the 

contribution of SPAR Austria, SPAR 

South Africa and SPAR UK, where two 

wholesalers, Henderson Group and 

James Hall have been very supportive. 




Responsible Retailing 

Sustainability and Corporate Social 

Responsibility are firmly on the agenda of 

SPAR Partners worldwide. In 2010 SPAR 

International will launch Strategy2Sustain. 

This will set out how SPAR countries, 

as responsible retailers, are actively 

implementing programmes to respond to 

these two important issues. 

SPAR Austria launched an instore initiative for the elderly. 

The SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin. 

SPAR Norway proudly support the charity Right to Play. 

SPAR International will also host 

a Sustainability Summit to roll-out 

Strategy2Sustain and to create 

awareness of the achievements to date 

of SPAR in managing its environmental 

impact and also in implementing CSR. 

. 

SPAR UK celebrate raising £1 million for NSPCC. 

In the SPAR Worldwide organisation 

there is a commitment to responsible 

retailing. The SPAR store is the heart of 

the local community: it serves the needs 

of local customers, provides employment 

for local people and provides a market 

for local suppliers. 

It is from this local involvement that 

SPAR so often fulfils its corporate social 

responsibility by supporting charities, its 

communities and sports organisations. 

SPAR country organisations are engaged 

in CSR activities at national level. 

SPAR countries have already for some 

Strategy2Sustain 

time sought to reduce energy usage, 

to eliminate waste and to minimise our 

carbon footprint. Initiatives include the 

development of eco-friendly retail stores 

and distribution centres. Transportation 

initiatives have been implemented not 

only to reduce dependence on carbon 

based fuels but also to optimise routings 

and loading levels; significant reductions 

in carbon footprint have been achieved. 

The Strategy2Sustain programme will 

support SPAR Partners in formalising 

their approach to sustainability and in 

communicating this to their customers. 

Sports Sponsorship 

SPAR will continue its focus on sport 

in 2010, when our biggest Sports 

Sponsorship event, the European 

Athletics Championships, will be held 

in Barcelona, Spain from 27 July to 1 

August. 

SPAR has been principal sponsor of 

European Athletics since 1996. During 

this time, our brand has become 

synonymous with athletics. Athletes 

too have come to appreciate the 

support from sponsors particularly as 

recession spread during the year. SPAR 

is proud to be associated with a sport 

which encourages healthy lifestyle and 

which is followed by millions of people 

worldwide. 

Great opportunities for SPAR in Barcelona this summer. 

Overview of SPAR sponsored 

athletics events in 2009 

TV audience – 288 million 

Countries participating – 48 

TV networks worldwide – 83 

TV broadcast hours – 403 

Athletes – 1,591 

For many years SPAR retailers and 

wholesalers have engaged in a wide range 

of community and charitable activities. 

The scope of such activities reflects the 

passion of the individuals involved. SPAR 

International supports this commitment to 

society and the environment through our 

‘Strategy2Sustain’. 

Strategy2Sustain will be rolled out during 

2010 in a number of steps. At an early 

stage a sustainability section on the 

SPAR-Connect Intranet site will be 

launched for SPAR countries. This site 

will provide support for SPAR Partners 

in formalising their approach to 

sustainability. 

The European Athletics Indoor 

Championships in Torino held from 6 to 8 

March 2009 was a prime example of top 

competition. The SPAR brand achieved 

great impact through the name on the 

number bibs and supporting stadium 

signage and promotional material. 

The approach adopted by SPAR 

International is closely modelled on the 

approach of a number of SPAR Partners 

and has a focus on sustainability, not just 

in the context of the environment but in 

all aspects of our business, how we meet 

the needs of customers in terms of the 

products we offer; how we behave as a 

corporate citizen, and how we engage 

with our staff. 

The commitment of SPAR worldwide 

to sustainability and behaving as a 

responsible retailer will be more widely 

communicated through both the SPAR 

International internet site and also a 

published report which will set out case 

studies drawn from SPAR partners. 

2009 also saw the introduction of the 

SPAR European Team Championships, 

created to support development of both 

men and women’s teams throughout 

Europe. This competition saw top 

athletes striving to gain the title of 

European Champion not for themselves 

but for their country. Cross-country 

concluded the year of involvement for 

SPAR, with the event held in Dublin. 

The European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torino offered excellent opportunities for brand building. 



Global meets local in this 'Food to Go' offer where the category innovations 

Treehouse ® , Kitsu ® and SPAR Café ® combine with local delicacies.

SPAR Worldwide 

An overview of existing members 

Record retail sales were enjoyed by 

SPAR in 2009. Total retail sales amounted 

to €28.5 billion. SPAR also achieved 

another milestone, with total retail selling 

area exceeding 6 million m². 

Western Europe 

Africa 

Eastern Europe 

Asia & Oceania 

Austria 

Year Joined: 1954 

Store Numbers: 1438 

Sales: €4,907 m 

Greece 



Sales: €702 m 

Portugal 




Botswana 




South Africa 



Sales: €3,802 m 

Croatia 




Romania 




Australia 




Belgium 




Ireland 



Sales: €1,222 m 

Spain 



Sales: €1,065 m 

Mauritius 




Zambia 




Czech Republic 




Russia 




China 




Denmark 



Sales: €1,119 m 

Italy 



Sales: €3,808 m 

Switzerland 




Namibia 




Zimbabwe 




Poland 




Slovenia 




Japan 




France 




Netherlands 




United Kingdom 



Sales: €3,184 m 

Nigeria 


First Store to open 2010 

Hungary 



Sales: €1,470 m 

Ukraine 




India 




Germany 




Norway 



Sales: €1,313 m 

30 SPAR International Annual Report 2009 SPAR International Annual Report 2009 31


Austria 

The last year has seen continued 

sustained growth by SPAR Austria. Retail 

sales increased by 2.6% to a record €4.9 

billion and retail selling space exceeded 1 

million m². Of note has been the increase 

in SPAR Stores to 1,438 of which 715 

are run by independent retailers. Total 

employment increased with the addition 

of 640 new jobs. By year end, SPAR 

Austria employed 36,000 people of 

which, 2.700 are apprentices. 

SPAR invested in the acquisition of 13 

outlets and the modernisation of 100 

stores. 2009 also saw the introduction 

of the SPAR Express format in Austria, 

with the opening of 6 forecourt stores. 

A major driver of growth has been 

the network of 61 INTERSPAR 

Hypermarkets, which enjoyed sales 

of €1.3 billion in 2009. During 2010, 4 

new INTERSPAR outlets are planned 

together with the refurbishment of 

another 6 stores. 

The SPAR Austria Group is the owner 

of 22 major shopping centres in 

central Europe which are managed 

and developed by its subsidiary SPAR 

European Shopping Centres [SES]. SES 

took on a new responsibility in 2009 

when it took over the management role 

of two shopping centres in Hungary, 

which were not owned by SPAR. 

The SPAR programme of private label 

products continued to be developed. 

Today SPAR offers more than 2,500 

private label products across a number of 

ranges. Particularly important has been 

the S-Budget discount range, which 

proved to be a ‘magic bullet’ against 

the crisis. 

SPAR continues to support the 

development of its sales with an extensive 

marketing programme. 

The last year has seen the continued 

involvement of Marcia Cross from 

“Desperate Housewives”, in advertising 

SPAR Feine Küche, while supermodel 

Cindy Crawford promotes the SPAR 

beauty range. 

A new IT company “SPAR Information 

and Communication Services” (ICS) 

was established in the last year. This 

new company brings together all the IT 

expertise of SPAR Austria and the Aspiag 

countries into one organisation. 

SPAR Austria continues to place 

great importance on Corporate Social 

Responsibility and for the fourth occasion 

won the national award. 

Belgium 

SPAR again performed strongly in 

a market where intense competition is 

resulting in great turbulence and where 

the food index was negative. In this 

context the growth in retail sales of 3.5% 

to now total €750 million is an excellent 

result. SPAR is positioned for further 

growth. 

SPAR saw a continuation in the pattern 

of increasing store size, with the average 

store size now being 432m². 

A strong focus has been placed on 

price, which has resulted in SPAR and 

EUROSPAR being well positioned 

against their competitors. 

SPAR Belgium operates three retail 

formats. The principal format operated is 

the SPAR neighbourhood format, serving 

local shopping needs. There are also 39 

EUROSPAR supermarkets, accounting 

for 27% of total sales, and the recently 

introduced SPAR Express format. 

SPAR is operated in Belgium by 

SPAR Retail (part of the Colruyt 

Group) and Lambrechts NV. SPAR 

is well established in the proximity 

or neighbourhood retailing sector of 

the market. 

Denmark 

The strong performance of SPAR 

Denmark continued in 2009, with retail 

sales increasing by 22.8%, breaking the 

€1 billion barrier for the first time. 

SPAR Denmark also set new records in 

terms of store numbers and total retail 

sales area. Store numbers increased by 

16% to total 531. Retail selling space 

increased by a dramatic 29%. Average 

store size has increased by 12% 

to 337m². 

The major factor driving the growth 

of SPAR has been the acquisition by 

Dagrofa Group, the parent company of 

SPAR, of a retail chain during 2009. 

The successful conversion and 

integration of these 73 stores into SPAR 

has been a major factor contributing 

to the growth of the business and the 

increase in market share to 8%. 

SPAR is now the largest chain of 

independent retailers in the Danish 

Market and is positioned for continued 

rapid growth in the coming years, with 

the decision to launch the EUROSPAR 

Supermarket format in Denmark. 

Plans were announced in late 2009 to 

introduce EUROSPAR supermarkets 

in the course of 2010. Work is actively 

progressing with the launch programme, 

with the first wave of 18 EUROSPAR 

outlets opening in spring 2010 and the 

second wave planned for early 2011. 

With the increasing importance of 

the discount sector in Denmark, SPAR is 

actively competing on price with its well 

developed GUL PRIS range positioned to 

match the lowest shelf price available. 

France 

Total retail sales of SPAR in France 

amounted to €927 million, a marginal 

fall on the level achieved the year 

previously. This represents a satisfactory 

performance in a particularly difficult 

market. Stores numbers at 911, show 

a minor fall. 

SPAR France is part of the Casino 

Group which is one of the major French 

Retailers. This link to Casino provides 

many advantages for SPAR in relation to 

buying terms and private label range. 

The French market has seen an 

intensification of price based competition. 

The major beneficiary has been the hard 

discount segment of the market. All 

other segments have seen an increased 

pressure on market share and margins 

as a result of intensified competition and 

reduced consumer expenditure. 

Despite the difficult trading conditions, 

SPAR retailers continue to compete 

effectively in the neighbourhood or 

proximity segment of the market. 

By retaining the focus on serving the 

needs of local consumers and adapting 

the retail offer to meet these needs, 

SPAR will retain its market position. 

SPAR retailers continue to invest in 

retail technology by installing electronic 

shelf edge labels and self checkout. The 

scale of this investment in 2009 was less 

than in previous years, though it will 

recover in line with sales and 

profitability. 

With the expected upturn in retail sales 

and consumer confidence in the latter 

part of 2010, retailers will begin to again 

invest in store refurbishment and the 

introduction of new product modules. 

33 




Germany 

The refocusing of SPAR Germany on 

convenience retailing was finalised in 

the course of 2009, with the business 

operating on the basis of the SPAR 

Express convenience format. 

This development concludes a 

restructuring and rationalisation that was 

initiated with the acquisition of SPAR by 

Edeka. 

SPAR Germany has a total of 309 SPAR 

Express stores. With total sales of €333 

million, SPAR Germany has experienced 

a fall in turnover of 44% as it focused on 

convenience retailing and in particular 

the forecourt sector with the major oil 

company Jet/Conoco. 

SPAR Germany is also targeting high 

footfall locations such as airports and 

railway stations with the SPAR Express 

format. 

SPAR has established important 

partnerships with leading forecourt 

operators as it has successfully rolled 

out SPAR Express. The average SPAR 

Express has a selling area of less than 

100m² and achieves annual sales of 

€1.1 million. 

Greece 

SPAR in Greece enjoyed an increase of 

7% to exceed €700 million in retail sales. 

This excellent performance has been 

achieved in a very difficult economic 

environment. 

There has been a continuing focus on 

driving sales by responding to consumer 

needs and at the same time investing in 

new stores. 

During 2009, 13 stores which had 

previously been acquired were rebranded 

SPAR. As a result of this investment retail 

selling space increased by 6% and SPAR 

numbers grew by 7% to total 181 stores. 

All of the stores operated by SPAR 

Greece are company owned and are 

under two retail formats – the SPAR 

neighbourhood supermarket and 

the EUROSPAR supermarket. The 

EUROSPAR format accounts for 34% 

of total sales from 18% of stores. 

The strong performance of SPAR 

Greece was recognised during 2009. 

A European award for a supply chain 

initiative to reduce stocks was received, 

while EUROSPAR Thrakomakedones 

was awarded best retail store in Greece. 

Ireland 

In the context of the economic downturn, 

Ireland SPAR performed strongly to 

achieve total retail sales of €1.22 billion. 

While sales have fallen in the last year, 

total retail selling space remained 

unchanged. 

This represents a strong performance in 

an exceptionally difficult market where 

consumer expenditure has declined. 

The focus on retaining market share 

has required significant investment in 

promotional activity, the accelerated 

expansion of the SPAR private label 

range and price reductions. There has 

also been a particular focus on improving 

efficiency across the supply chain. 

SPAR enjoyed success in national 

awards with SPAR Parkwest named 

National Convenience Store of the 

year and SPAR Ranelagh winning the 

Community Initiative Award. 

SPAR has continued to upgrade existing 

stores and actively seeks to develop 

new stores. SPAR Ireland operates three 

SPAR Formats. In addition to the SPAR 

format, 73 SPAR Express stores operate 

on petrol forecourts and EUROSPAR 

supermarkets totalled 53 at year end. 

Italy 

SPAR Italy remains the second 

largest SPAR country, with retail sales 

approaching €4 billion and store 

numbers of 1,636. Retail sales fell by 

5.7% in the course of the last year as 

a result of the difficult trading situation 

and the closure of a regional wholesale 

company. Despite these difficulties the 

11 DeSPAR Italia partners continue to 

invest in growing and developing the 

SPAR business. 

During 2009 there was a significant 

change in store size and retail selling 

space as the trend towards larger stores 

continued. Retail selling space increased 

by 3.5%, while store numbers declined. 

The average store size has increased 

to 520m². 

With the focus on larger stores and the 

investment in retail selling space, a strong 

performance is expected in 2010 despite 

the continuing economic slowdown. The 

celebration during the 50th anniversary 

of SPAR will give an additional boost 

to sales. 

The DeSPAR Partners operate stores 

under 3 formats – DeSPAR neighbourhood 

supermarkets, EUROSPAR supermarkets 

and INTERSPAR hypermarkets. 

At the end of 2009 DeSPAR operated 

71 INTERSPAR hypermarkets which 

accounted for 28% of retail sales. It also 

operated a total of 272 EUROSPAR 

supermarkets which accounted for 32% 

of sales. Thus more than 60% of turnover 

was accounted for by the larger format 

stores, which is 21% of total stores. 

This trend towards larger format 

stores, which account for an increasing 

proportion of turnover is expected to 

continue. Many of the larger format 

stores are company owned, reflecting 

the scale of investment required. 

The independently owned DeSPAR 

neighbourhood local supermarket will 

remain a key part of the business. 

Throughout 2009, DeSPAR Italia has 

placed a major focus on developing its 

private label range including the launch 

of the discount range ‘S-Budget’. This 

development has been important in 

providing retailers with a price focus to 

offer to consumers. 

In addition to the discount range, 

DeSPAR Italia has also strengthened 

the total DeSPAR Private Label range 

offer and placed an emphasis on 

the environment in all aspects of 

the business. 


With an increase in retail sales of 4% to 

total €523 million, SPAR enjoyed a good 

trading year. This was a particularly 

strong performance as there was a 

decline in both store numbers and retail 

selling space. 

Store numbers declined by 16 to 320, a 

fall of 5%. Retail selling space declined 

by 3%. 

During 2009 SPAR Netherlands 

consolidated all stores under one format. 

Stores will be developed to respond to 

the needs of the local community. The 

average size of a SPAR store is 359m². 

Following the successful merger and 

integration of the Attent chain into the 

SPAR business, management has 

focused on improving the supply chain, 

both in terms of quality and service and 

also reducing costs, improving efficiency 

and minimising environmental impact. 

With the focus on competitiveness and 

price, further consolidation is expected 

in the Dutch retail and wholesale 

sector. These changes may create 

new opportunities for SPAR. 

35 




Norway 

With retail sales in excess of €1.3 billion, 

SPAR Norway has marginally increased 

its market share and now accounts for 

10% of the grocery market. This increase 

in retail sales of 2.7% is an excellent 

performance as it has been achieved 

with a reduced number of stores and a 

decline in retail selling space of 4%. 

SPAR Norway operates 2 retail formats, 

SPAR neighbourhood supermarkets 

and EUROSPAR supermarkets. Average 

store size increased marginally in the last 

year to 555m², reflecting the increasing 

importance of the larger EUROSPAR 

format. 

EUROSPAR stores number 33 of the 

total 297 stores. This 11% of store 

numbers accounts for 19% of turnover. 

This trend is expected to continue with 

increased investment being made in the 

opening of the larger format. 

Some 21% of sales are accounted for by 

company owned stores. 

SPAR Norway is part of NorgesGruppen, 

which is the largest food retailer and 

wholesaler in Norway. 

SPAR Norway is committed to 

implementing Corporate Social 

Responsibility, as a part of the wider CSR 

programme in NorgesGruppen. Initiatives 

are in place to reduce the environmental 

impact of all aspects of the business in 

line with National targets. 

A particular focus has been placed on 

reducing the greenhouse gas emissions 

associated with transportation. In 

addition to the optimisation of distribution, 

the company has pioneered the adoption 

of cryogenic technology in transport 

refrigeration. 

Portugal 

The last year has seen the successful 

roll-out of SPAR in Portugal. By the end 

of 2009 store numbers had grown to 

30. With a continued strong store 

opening programme, retail sales will 

grow dramatically in 2010. 

The focus of the business is on one 

format — the SPAR neighbourhood 

supermarket, which is reflected in the 

average store size of 325m². The difficult 

economic prospects will result in 

consolidation, which will create 

opportunities for SPAR. 

Spain 

SPAR retail sales showed a marginal 

increase to €1.07 billion. This was an 

excellent performance in the context 

of a Spanish economy which has 

experienced a severe economic 

downturn and where unemployment 

is at record levels. 

The last year has seen an increase 

in both store numbers and also retail 

selling space. Store numbers grew 

by 6% while selling space increased 

by 7%. Thus the prospects for 2010 

are positive, even in the context of a 

continued difficult economic situation. 

With an average store size of 360m², 

the predominant format in Spain is 

the SPAR neighbourhood supermarket 

with a total of 853 stores. A total 

of 16 EUROSPAR supermarkets are 

also operated. 

A major focus of the marketing 

programme of SPAR Spain is on the 

SPAR International sponsored European 

Athletics Championships in Barcelona. 

This event in July together with the FIFA 

World Cup in South Africa will provide a 

strong boost to sales. 

Switzerland 

SPAR Switzerland celebrated its 20th 

anniversary in 2009 with retail sales 

growing to €372 million, an increase 

of 3.8%. This is an excellent result in 

the context of the growth of discount 

retailing. Store numbers again increased 

and now total 158, while retail selling 

space increased by nearly 3%. 

Two retail formats are operated with 

SPAR neighbourhood supermarkets 

accounting for 149 of the stores. The 

EUROSPAR format is only at an early 

stage of development but already 

accounts for 13% of total sales. 

A major focus for 2009 has been 

the promotion of organic products, 

including placing a focus on the SPAR 

Natur*Pur private label organic range. 

SPAR is differentiated through the use of 

such personality endorsed private label 

campaigns. 

A major highlight of the celebration 

of the 20th anniversary was the very 

successful hosting of the annual 

International SPAR Congress in May. 

This event provided an opportunity 

for SPAR Switzerland to showcase 

its success. 


SPAR United Kingdom enjoyed an 

excellent year with sales growing by 

6.9% to €3.2 billion and store numbers 

increasing to 2,577. The strength of 

the performance is reflected in a 6.4% 

increase in retail selling space. This is an 

excellent result in a market where price 

based competition has intensified. 

The excellent performance is reflected in 

the success enjoyed by SPAR retailers 

in national and regional awards for 

excellence in all aspects of retailing, 

community involvement and caring for 

staff, including winning ‘Symbol Group 

of the Year’. 

The drivers of the success of the last year 

include a major focus on driving value 

in the store with strong promotions, a 

strengthened SPAR private label range 

and instore communication. 

The Real Deal package was re-launched 

and supported with promotions 

that rivalled the major multiples and 

demonstrated value to consumers. The 

POS material was designed to focus on 

the specific offer available instore. The 

offers were supported by a mix of media 

including, TV, radio and press. 

SPAR UK continued to roll-out its ‘Store 

of the Future’ initiative which optimises 

the layout and range according to the 

local customer profile. Results show that 

the refurbishment of stores in line with 

this initiative is generating significant 

increases in footfall, basket spend and 

margin. 

A particular focus has been placed on 

continuing to develop 'Food to Go' by reengineering 

the offer and also introducing 

the ‘toGo’ brand only available at SPAR. 

Hero brands have also been developed 

in this category. 

2009 saw the introduction of 

EUROSPAR in England and Wales 

with the opening of this format by two 

of the SPAR Partners. The EUROSPAR 

format has been successfully operated 

in Northern Ireland for some years. 

There is a continuing commitment to 

community involvement at national and 

local level. SPAR UK has a number 

of sports sponsorship initiatives 

including local school sports days 

and the SPAR Sprints Initiative. 

SPAR UK is also a major supporter of 

NSPCC, which is a leading children’s 

charity in the United Kingdom. 

37 



The SPAR supermarket format, which is hugely popular with Chinese 

customers, will be rolled out across China.

Eastern Europe 

Croatia 

The last year has been very significant 

in the development of SPAR in Croatia. 

Retail sales increased by 31% and 

store numbers more than doubled. 

Following the successful completion 

of the acquisition of the Ipercoop 

hypermarkets, SPAR has increased 

store numbers to 13. 

With retail store numbers and retail selling 

space more than doubling during the 

course of the year, SPAR is positioned 

for another outstanding performance in 

2010. This is a significant achievement 

in the context of the continuing impact 

of the economic crisis, with GDP falling 

by nearly 6%. 

2009 has seen a number of important 

firsts for SPAR Croatia, including the 

opening of the first SPAR neighbourhood 

supermarket, the conversion of the first 

Ipercoop hypermarket to INTERSPAR 

and the opening of the first INTERSPAR 

restaurant. 

SPAR Croatia won a national award 

for its commitment to the environment 

based on the introduction of the biodegradable 

shopping bag made from 

corn starch. 


With retail sales in line with the previous 

year, SPAR has performed satisfactorily 

in a market which is characterised by 

intense competition and has seen a 

decline in GDP of 4.8% as a result of the 

economic crisis. 

During the last year SPAR continued to 

invest in new stores with the opening of 

3 INTERSPAR Hypermarkets, including 

the introduction of a pilot ‘SPAR toGo’ 

concept in one of the new outlets. 

This important development brings to 

32 the total number of INTERSPAR 

hypermarkets in the Czech Republic, 

which account for the great majority 

of sales. The SPAR neighbourhood 

supermarket, of which there are 107 in 

total, is the second format operated in 

the country. 

A major development to support the 

continued expansion of SPAR was the 

opening of a centralised distribution 

centre in Prague. This 38,000m² facility 

will support the continued growth of 

SPAR by increasing the availability of 

the necessary product range, improving 

service to retail outlets and reducing 

supply chain costs. 

Hungary 

In the context of the impact that the 

financial crisis had on the Hungarian 

economy, the sales increase of 6.2% 

represents a very good performance. 

SPAR total retail sales amounted to 

€1.47 billion. 

The investment made in the development 

of SPAR as a leading food retailer is seen 

in the increase in store numbers to 398 

and the increase in retail selling space 

to almost 400,000m². The average 

store size of SPAR in Hungary is now 

1,000m² 

SPAR operates two principal formats 

in Hungary – SPAR and INTERSPAR. 

There are 31 INTERSPAR hypermarkets, 

which account for a third of total 

sales. During 2009 a total of 7 new 

stores were opened, including two 

INTERSPAR hypermarkets. In addition, 

the transformation to SPAR of the 177 

Plus stores that had been acquired 

was completed. 

Important marketing initiatives in 

2009 included the sponsorship of the 

‘SPAR Budapest International Marathon’ 

and the recent launch of the ‘SuperShop’ 

loyalty card. 

Russia 

SPAR Russia enjoyed significant growth 

in the last year, with retail sales of €640 

million. Retail sales increased by 26% 

and store numbers grew to 212. Average 

store size is 502m². 

This is a very strong performance as 

the financial crisis seriously impacted 

on Russia in early 2009. The economic 

slowdown was accompanied by a 

significant fall in the exchange rate. 

The economic downturn has in turn 

impacted on consumer expenditure, 

which has resulted in intensified 

competition. 

Faced by this challenge the SPAR 

partners have responded by focusing on 

improved buying terms through Federal 

Contracts, and also increasing the pace 

of the development of its SPAR Private 

Label range. 

Despite the difficult trading conditions a 

number of the partners have performed 

particularly well including the opening 

of company owned stores and also the 

roll-out of a SPAR franchisee programme. 

Major retail and distribution projects are 

also at an advanced planning stage. 

Slovenia 

Total retail sales were €678 million in 

2009. SPAR continued to focus on 

growth in this market with retail selling 

space increasing by nearly 7% and 

store numbers increasing to 80. This is 

an excellent result in a year when GDP 

declined by 7.4% and unemployment 

increased rapidly. 

SPAR operates 2 retail formats in Slovenia 

– 68 SPAR neighbourhood supermarkets 

and 12 INTERSPAR Hypermarkets. The 

latter format however accounts for some 

50% of total turnover. All of the stores 

are company owned. 

During 2009 five new stores were 

opened including one INTERSPAR. The 

last year has also seen the successful 

roll-out of self-checkout in INTERSPAR 

Hypermarkets. This roll-out was 

supported with a high level of instore 

communication to customers. 

The introduction of self-checkout 

positioned SPAR as leader in terms of 

customer service and innovation. This 

ranking was confirmed by a national 

survey of all retailers. 2009 also saw the 

introduction of eco-friendly recyclable 

shopping bags. 

Poland 

SPAR experienced difficult trading 

conditions in the course of 2009, but has 

put in place a new structure with Bać- 

Pol, which will support the development 

of the business. In the context of these 

changes the achievement of sales of 

€70 million, a decline of 2.7%, presents 

a good performance and provides a 

platform for growth. 

Romania 

The economic crisis has severely 

impacted on the Romanian economy, 

which is reflected in the loss of more than 

50% of retail sales by SPAR Romania. 

At the end of 2009, total retail sales 

amounted to €18.4 million and store 

numbers had fallen to 14, of which 10 

were operated by SPAR Romania and 4 

stores were franchised. 

Ukraine 

SPAR Ukraine set up a new structure 

during 2009 to support the development 

of the business throughout the country. 

The 31% decline in retail sales to €39 

million reflects the difficulties faced 

by one of the three SPAR Partners. 

Important developments during 2009 

were the opening of 2 SPAR stores in the 

capital, Kiev. 

41 



Africa 

South Africa 

SPAR South Africa continued to achieve 

its strong year on year growth of retail 

sales with an increase of 13.8% to 

€3.8 billion. While store numbers only 

increased marginally, retail selling space 

increased by 2% with average store size 

increasing to 1,052m². All stores are 

independently owned. 

A major focus of SPAR continues to be 

to work with independent retailers on 

refurbishing of stores including retrofitting 

new product concepts. In the last year 

some 137 stores were upgraded under 

the ‘Refit Programme’. 

SPAR also continues to support the rollout 

of electronic shelf labels, which are 

now operated by 75 stores. SPAR is 

the leading retailer in South Africa in the 

implementation of this technology. 

SPAR South Africa operates 3 retail 

formats, SUPERSPAR for weekly 

family shopping which is very similar 

to EUROSPAR; SPAR neighbourhood 

and rural supermarket, with in excess 

of 700m² selling area on average; and 

KWIKSPAR for stores in the range of 

250-600m². 

The good sales performance in the 

difficult economic environment was as a 

result of a strong promotional campaign 

and an increased focus on private label. 

The message on price and value formed 

the backbone of the press advertising 

and was supported by the distribution of 

leaflets each month. 

SPAR private label grew by 16% despite 

the introduction of many price reductions. 

Some 240 additional products were 

introduced/repackaged. This included 

introducing GDA panels on products. 

SPAR has also continued to invest in 

expanding and upgrading its operating 

facilities. During the last year this included 

the completion of a fresh facility and the 

expansion of a DC. This DC at South 

Rand now has an area of 60,000m². 

The new perishable facility at KwaZulu- 

Natal will enable SPAR to improve its 

cold chain and also expand the product 

range carried. It is also planned to build 

a perishable facility in Lowveld which will 

grow sales in this area with the availability 

of an enhanced chilled offer. 

Botswana 

The strong performance shown in recent 

years was sustained in 2009 with retail 

sales growing by 21% to just under €100 

million. The number of SPAR stores 

increased by 1 to 25. 

There has been significant investment 

by existing retailers in refurbishment and 

extension of their stores, resulting in the 

increase of the average size to 901m². 

The major driver of growth has been the 

sustained investment in developing the 

SUPERSPAR format. There are currently 

5 SUPERSPAR stores which account for 

more than 25% of retail sales. Design 

and layout for the development of these 

stores has been provided by SPAR 

South Africa. 

Mauritius 

SPAR recorded retail sales of €17.4 

million, maintaining the same level as 

the previous year. Given the depressed 

economic circumstances prevailing in 

the country this is a satisfactory result. 

The main focus in 2009 was on reducing 

operating costs. Retail selling space 

remained unchanged at 5,300m², with 

an average store size of 883m². 

Namibia 

SPAR Namibia has seen retail sales 

grow by 17% in the last year. While 

store numbers were unchanged, retail 

selling space increased by 18%. This 

has resulted in an average store size 

of 1,104m². 

The development of the larger 

SUPERSPAR format is the major driver 

of growth. Some 40% of sales are 

accounted for by the four SUPERSPAR 

supermarkets. 

Namibia was formerly serviced by SPAR 

South Africa from the North Rand DC. 

This changed during 2009 to the newly 

opened Western Cape DC in Cape Town. 

Nigeria 

Work is advanced for the opening of 

the first store in Nigeria in the first half 

of 2010. The plan is to open 20 SPAR 

supermarkets over a 3 year period, 

following the opening of the flagship 

store at Victoria Island, Lagos. 

With a total population of more than 150 

million and a developing economy, Nigeria 

offers enormous growth potential. 

Zambia 

SPAR Zambia has shown growth in the 

last year with an increase in retail sales 

to €42 million. This is a satisfactory 

result following on from a period of 

consolidation when operational issues 

were addressed. 

As part of this consolidation and 

restructuring, the decision has been 

taken to move from company owned 

store to a franchise store model. 

Currently there is one franchise store, 

but plans are in place to roll-out 

this concept. 

SPAR Zambia has set in place an 

ambitious plan to grow the SPAR brand 

in Zambia, and become the benchmark 

by which their competition is measured. 

The Arcades store is being relaunched 

and will act as a flagship for the SPAR 

brand in Zambia. 

SPAR International is not only 

supporting this project but is also 

involved in the project to launch the first 

Flagship SPAR Franchise store later 

in 2010. 

Zimbabwe 

After experiencing huge difficulties over a 

number of years SPAR enjoyed excellent 

results in 2009 with retail sales growing 

to €127 million and store numbers 

recovering to 62. The average store size 

is 544m². 

With the Government decision to 

re-introduce multi-currency trading the 

retail industry revived. Locally produced 

product appeared on the market 

and, supported by an extensive range 

of imports, consumers could again 

revisit the stores for a full complement 

of goods. 

The need to participate in the community 

is a priority and SPAR Zimbabwe 

continued to support Childline Zimbabwe 

as their major corporate charity, together 

with other children’s based charities 

and orphanages. SPAR and Tree Africa 

also continued with the successful 

Tree Planting Programme – ‘Every Child 

A Tree’. 

SPAR plans to open a further 20 stores 

in 2010, ten of which will be new stores, 

and the remainder being conversions. 

43 



Asia & Oceania 

The SPAR Express format has been adapted and 

implemented with ease into many countries. 

Australia 

SPAR Australia had sales of €121 million. 

This is a positive performance, which 

has been driven by the increase in store 

numbers and retail selling space. Store 

numbers increased by a quarter to now 

total 106, with an average store size 

of 403m². 

SPAR Australia opened a number of 

flagship stores in the course of 2009, 

which have helped drive the growth of 

the business. 

These flagship stores provide a European 

fresh food market feel offering a full range 

of groceries. There is also a very strong 

emphasis instore on locally produced 

products. 

SPAR Australia in its CSR programme 

is strongly committed to supporting the 

communities in which it operates. It is a 

major direct employer and also provides 

great support to local food producers. 

Early indications for 2010 are for a 

reduced rate of growth as a result of 

restructuring within the SPAR business 

and continuing uncertainty regarding 

consumer spending. 

China 

Retail sales increased by 47% in the 

last year but further significant growth 

can be expected in 2010 as the majority 

of new store openings were in the 

second half of the year. In addition, 

a new partner, SPAR Hunan opened 

their first hypermarket late in 2009. 

Two new partners, SPAR Beijing and 

SPAR Jiangxi, will open their first stores 

in 2010. 

Currently two retail formats are operated 

by SPAR in China. The principal format 

is the SPAR hypermarket but the SPAR 

Partners in China will grow their business 

with two formats – SPAR hypermarket 

and SPAR supermarket. 

The prospects are for continued growth 

in 2010. The SPAR partners are making 

significant investments in both new stores 

and in modern distribution centres, the 

first of which opened early in 2010. 

SPAR China will host the SPAR 

International Congress in Dongguan 

and also open the first SPAR store in 

Beijing during 2010. Both are significant 

milestones in the development of 

the company. 

India 

SPAR retail sales increased to €21 

million in 2009, an increase of 40%. 

While store numbers are unchanged, 

significant progress has been achieved 

in fine-tuning the business model and in 

delivering an operational profit. 

Through improving the layout and 

merchandising of the store, a major 

increase in retail productivity was 

achieved. The fresh offer has been 

extended and has been a key driver of 

customer footfall. 

Every Day Low Prices were introduced 

for key lines and private label was 

strengthened. It is now proposed to 

open at least 5 large format SPAR 

Hypermarkets each year, over the next 

3 years. 

Japan 

The restructuring of the SPAR business 

continued in the last year. SPAR is now 

operated by one partner in Hokkaido. 

The lack of growth in the economy 

and the continuing downward pressure 

on prices result in little prospect for 

any significant change in either store 

numbers or retail sales. 

45 



SPAR Partners Worldwide 

The continued success of SPAR is based on the commitment to 

outstanding service throughout the SPAR partnership of Retailers, 

Wholesalers and Entrepreneurs. 

Australia 

SPAR Australia Limited 

Greece 

Veropoulos Bros S.A. 

Norway 

Kjøpmannshuset Norge AS (part of NorgesGruppen ASA) 

Switzerland 

SPAR Handels AG (Schweiz) 

Austria 

SPAR Österreichische Warenhandels AG 

Hungary 

SPAR Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft. (part of ASPIAG) 

Poland 

SPAR Polska Sp. z.o.o. (part of Bać-Pol) 

Ukraine 

SPAR Ukraine LLC 

Belgium 

SPAR Retail NV (part of Colruyt) 

SPAR Lambrechts NV 

Botswana 

SPAR Botswana 

The SPAR Group Limited, South Africa 

China 

Shandong Jia Jia Yue Group Co., Ltd. 

Hubei Yasi Chain Commercial Co., Ltd. 

Guangdong Dongguan Jiarong Supermarket Co., Ltd. 

Shanxi Meet All Chain Supermarkets Co., Ltd. 

Hunan Jiahui Department Store Co., Ltd. 

Croatia 

SPAR Hrvatska d.o.o. (part of ASPIAG) 


SPAR √eská obchodní spole≠nost s.r.o. (part of ASPIAG) 

SPAR ıumava s.r.o. 

Denmark 

SPAR Danmark A/S (part of Dagrofa A/S) 

France 

SPAR France SAS (part of Groupe Casino) 

Germany 

Deutsche SPAR 

SPAR Handels AG 

SPAR Zentrale Oberpfalz 

Ireland 

SPAR Ireland (part of BWG Foods Ltd.) 

India 

MAX Hypermarket India Pvt. Ltd. 

Italy 

DESPAR Italia Consorzio a r.l. 

SPAR Regional Companies: 

Aspiag Service S.r.l. 

Cavamarket S.p.A. 

C.A.D.L.A. S.r.l. 

FIORINO S.r.l. 

G.A.M. S.p.A. 

SADAS S.p.A. 

Aligrup S.p.A. 

Gruppo 6 G.D.O. S.r.l. 

IPA SUD S.r.l. 

DESA - CS&D scpa 

TUO S.p.A. 

Japan 

Hokkaido SPAR Co., Ltd. 

Mauritius 

SPAR Mauritius (part of SOMAGS Ltée) 

Namibia 

SPAR Namibia 

The SPAR Group Limited, South Africa 


SPAR Holding B.V. (part of Sperwer Group) 

Nigeria 

SPAR Nigeria (part of Artee Group) 

Portugal 

SPAR Portugal S.A. 

Romania 

SPAR Romania (part of SC Astral Impex Srl) 

Russia 

SPAR Retail Moscow 

SPAR Vostok 

SPAR Middle Volga 

SPAR Povolzhye 

SPAR Tula 

Slovenia 

SPAR Slovenija d.o.o (part of ASPIAG) 

South Africa 

The SPAR Group Limited 

Spain 

SPAR Española, S.L. 


Agrucan, S.L. 

Cencosu, S.A. 

Domingo Marqués, S.A. 

Excluib, S.A. 

Fragadis, S.L. 

Insular General Alimentaria, S.A. 

José Espinosa Pomares, S.A. 

José Padilla Francés, S.L. 

Lider Aliment, S.A. 

Miquel Alimentacío Grup, S.A.U. 

Pascual Hermanos, S.L. 

Romen, S.L. 

Supermercados Marcial, S.L. 

Tomás Barreto, S.A. 

Valvi Alimentació Serveis, S.L. 

Victoriano Moldes Ruibal, S.A. 

SPAR Dnepropetrovsk 

SPAR Lugansk 


SPAR UK Ltd. 


Appleby Westward Group Plc 

A.F. Blakemore & Sons Ltd. 

Capper & Co. Ltd. 

James Hall & Co. (Southport) Ltd. 

Henderson Wholesale Ltd. 

C.J. Lang & Son Ltd. 

Zambia 

SPAR Zambia Ltd. 

Zimbabwe 

SPAR Zimbabwe Ltd. 


SPAR Eastern Region 

SPAR Western Region 

47 



SPAR International Action Groups 

Statistics 2009 

The Action Groups provide a unique platform for working 

together and exchanging knowledge. 

Marketing Action Group 

Chairman: Tobias Wasmuht SPAR International: Gary Harris, Ulrike Freudenberg, Nicole Iking, Penny van der Kaars 

Manu Suffeleers 

B 

Suzanne Weldon 

IRL Nils Moesødegård NOR 

Linda McBeth 

DK Marco Orsenigo 

ITA Adam Margolin 

UK 

Jesús González 

ESP Stephan Thijssen NL 

Human Resources Action Group 

Chairman: Frank O’Donoghue SPAR International: Jutta Klassen, David Moore, Richard Dady 

Raimund Lainer 

A 

Helene Eidsvig 

NOR Stephen Cloves 

UK 

Allan Nielsen 

DK Helena ıubelj 

SL Sam Davidson 

UK 

Warehouse Action Group 

Chairman: Frank O’Donoghue SPAR International: Rob Karman, Dieter Dornauer 

Trevor Currie 

SA Anthony Barton 

UK Pat McGarry 

UK 

Hilton Briner 

SA Dominic Hall 

UK 

BIGS Action Group 

Chairman: Gordon Campbell BIGS: Joop Elderhorst, Marinus Koelewijn, Natasha Nadj 

Robert Schaumburger A 

Bernhard Schwendinger CH Gianluca Di Venanzo ITA 

Johannes Holzleitner Aspiag Jacob Heinz 

DK Jan-Hein van Spaandonk NL 

Iris Grieshofer 

Aspiag Konstantin Simos GRE Mark Keeley 

UK 

Jan Pelgrims 

B 

Simon Marriott 

IRL 

STOREIT Action Group 

Country Retail Sales Retail Store Retail Sales Average Store 

000’s Numbers Area (m 2 ) Size (m 2 ) 

Austria 4,907,430 1438 1,015,300 706 

Italy 3,808,378 1636 851,073 520 

South Africa 3,801,571 803 845,153 1,052 

United Kingdom 3,184,225 2577 384,225 149 

Hungary 1,469,858 398 397,385 998 

Norway 1,313,449 297 164,842 555 

Ireland 1,222,427 456 122,375 268 

Denmark 1,119,070 531 178,714 337 

Spain 1,064,869 869 312,408 360 

France 926,577 911 226,765 249 

Belgium 749,949 332 143,565 432 

Greece 701,979 181 131,446 726 

Slovenia 678,131 80 132,974 1,662 

Russia 639,327 212 106,508 502 

Netherlands 523,266 320 114,879 359 

Czech Republic 514,082 139 152,344 1,096 

Switzerland 372,001 158 67,109 425 

Germany 332,972 309 26,280 85 

China 254,684 77 385,214 5,003 

Croatia 185,717 13 63,580 4,891 

Zimbabwe 126,660 62 33,749 544 

Australia 120,825 106 42,750 403 

Botswana 98,683 25 22,514 901 

Namibia 87,312 23 25,381 1,104 

Japan 70,113 93 9,726 105 

Poland 69,807 60 14,277 238 

Zambia 41,645 9 14,473 1,608 

Ukraine 38,079 28 19,608 700 

India 20,982 3 9,217 3,072 

Romania 18,375 14 17,734 1,267 

Mauritius 17,420 6 5,300 883 

Portugal 15,988 30 9,750 325 

Chairman: Frank O’Donoghue SPAR International: Rob Karman 

Hannes Leobacher A 

Preben Gaardsøe 

Jernej Pirç 

Aspiag Jørgen Hagen 

Per Erland 

DK Enno Stelma 

DK 

N 

SA 

Roy Ford 

Joanne Kelly 

UK 

UK 

Total 28,495,851 12,196 6,046,618 496 

49

Winning Strategies for the New Decade - Spar

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