Spar (retailer)

Spar (styled SPAR), trades from approximately 12400 stores in 34 countries worldwide and is the world's largest independent voluntary retail trading chain. Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan Van Well and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European countries, parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.^[1] It has its headquarters in Amsterdam.^[2]

Etymology

The name was originally DE SPAR, an acronym of the Dutch phrase Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren Allen Regelmatig (literally: "through united co-operation everyone regularly profits"). Spaar or spar means "save (money)" in Afrikaans, Dutch, Danish, German, Swedish and Norwegian. "De Spar" is Dutch for "The Fir", hence Spar's logo. As the organisation expanded across Europe, the name was abbreviated by dropping "DE", but the underlying meaning remains. In Italy, the name is still Despar, though in keeping with the international branding, the "SPAR" section of the logo is highlighted, and the larger stores are still called Eurospar and Interspar. In Japan the store operates under the name Hotspar, although the store logo colouring remains unchanged.

History

Spar was founded in 1932 in the Dutch city of Zoetermeer. In 1953 an International Spar office opened in Amsterdam to control and further develop the organisation throughout Europe and other continents. Most Spar stores are in Europe, but they can also be found in a few countries outside of Europe, such as Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland, Australia, Mauritius, China, India, Japan and Vanuatu.^[3]

A Spar store may be owned independently, by a franchisee, or be part of a chain, depending on the model applied in any given country. The owners of the parent company vary from country to country and may include the store owners themselves. The only common link between the stores in different countries is the branding—the name and the current logo, which was most recently revised in 1968 by Raymond Loewy and has remained unchanged ever since.^[4]

In the United Kingdom Spar has become known primarily as a convenience store, although in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Spar operates using the subformat Eurospar too. Spar opened in the Republic of Vanuatu on the 1st December 2009 ending Au Bon Marché's grocery monopoly.

In 1997, Spar was introduced to most United Kingdom military bases by Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (Naafi), where it sells a variety of civilian and military products.^[5]

Sub Brands

InterSpar These are hypermarkets and compete directly against major international chains such as Real, Carrefour and Tesco.^[6][7]

EuroSpar & Super Spar The EuroSpar name is used for this format in Europe and SuperSpar in Africa. These are mid-sized supermarkets. They are designed to fit in a niche between convenience stores and traditional supermarkets.

Spar Express (KwikSpar in South Africa) This is the smallest store type. They are designed for small sites and service station forecourts.

Spar Drive-Thru There is a Drive-Thru Spar on the Cliftonville Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland.^[8]

Not all of these brands or formats are used in every country.^[9]

The company has been a major sponsor of the European Athletic Association and its events since 1996.^[10]

Company slogans

International statistics 2010

• Including stores (4) in Swaziland.

References

External links

• Spar Annual Report 2009
• Official website
• Yahoo! – SPAR Handels-Aktiengesellschaft Company Profile (2,500+1,175+200 stores)
• Yahoo! – SPAR (UK) Limited Company Profile (2,600 stores)