2021 Review

Despite the ongoing global pandemic and additional challenging circumstances, 2021 was a strong year for SPAR worldwide, with global sales increasing by 3.3% to €41.2 billion. The growth of SPAR has been built on the resilience of our supply chain and a strong network of 13,623 stores embedded in the communities they serve. Over 410,000 highly committed SPAR colleagues worldwide have shown continued strength in maintaining and growing our operations internationally in the face of ongoing volatility caused by lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions.

In Western Europe, SPAR achieved a retail turnover of €25.93 billion from 9,992 stores in 16 countries. Sales grew at 1.8% in 2021. SPAR is present and growing in 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and has a strong portfolio of 2,019 stores generating a retail turnover of €7.05 billion in 2021. SPAR in Africa and the Middle East generated sales of €6.34 billion from 1,124 stores in 15 countries. In Asia Pacific, a retail turnover of €1.83 billion was reported in 2021, with a SPAR presence in six countries operating a combined 488 SPAR stores in a multi-format and multi-channel strategy.

SPAR operates a multi-format strategy. The global portfolio comprises formats tailored to shopping missions and local customer needs: SPAR – the local neighbourhood supermarket; EUROSPAR – the supermarket for weekly family  shopping; INTERSPAR – the hypermarket format; and SPAR Express – the convenience format for high traffic and transient locations. The competitive advantages of the SPAR multi-format strategy and the critical role of independent retailing in communities across the globe were again a clear factor of success throughout 2021.

Future Outlook

After two years of successfully responding to the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic, SPAR worldwide has not only shown great resilience and adaptability but is also better positioned to respond to ongoing volatility and uncertainty. Internationally, SPAR shall continue to expand our footprint with
the opening in mid-2022 of SPAR Latvia, which shall be the 18th country in which the SPAR Brand has a presence in the European Union. With the launch of SPAR in Kazakhstan, targeted for the second half of 2022, SPAR is set to establish a presence in Central Asia. We forecast further development in this region in
the short- to mid-term.

We have a strong and positive outlook for future expansion as independent retail chains in both developed and developing markets seek to join the SPAR organisation to benefit from the scale and synergies of the global SPAR Brand and its extensive network.