There were many excited customers and employees present at the re-opening of SPAR Hammerfest during the summer, after the store was closed for renovations since late November last year.

The old store required refurbishment to modernise many of the retailing solutions. Among other things, the back of house storage was located in the store’s cellar which made the day-to-day operations cumbersome and the store had become very cramped. In November 2016, the store was closed and the brand new supermarket was ready to open for trading after eight months of work.

Customers were queuing outside the store on the opening day, excited to see the brand new supermarket, with a total of 1,518 transactions being recorded on that day. The proud SPAR retailer, Stian Johnsen, welcomed all customers with a handshake and commented that he had missed all regular customers while the store was closed.

Dagfinn Liljedal Elverum, one of the project leaders, says the new store not only has an expanded product range but the fresh produce department has also been upgraded. Additionally, SPAR Hammerfest now offers a great range of pre-packaged foods along with hot prepared meals. This has been made possible by expanding the retail sales area to 600m^2.

A local taxi driver who visited SPAR Hammerfest on the opening day said that he really enjoyed the large selection of prepared foods such as hot meals. This was very convenient for him due to working long hours. Good service and friendly staff is a key factor for him before deciding where to buy his groceries. He confirmed that he will recommend SPAR Hammerfest to all tourists visiting the city.

The opening day video, in Norwegian, shows delighted shoppers!