SPAR Austria has reached an agreement to acquire 23 Unimarkt stores, which will be converted to the SPAR brand in the future. The stores include 11 in Styria, five in Upper Austria, four in Lower Austria, two in Salzburg, and one in Burgenland. The goal is to retain all existing employees under the agreement finalised on 19 November 2025 between representatives of SPAR Austria and Unimarkt.

The transfer of the stores will take place once the competition authorities have approved.

Under the agreement between SPAR Austria and Unimarkt, negotiated by SPAR Austria board member Marcus Wild, almost all of the 23 acquired stores will be operated by independent SPAR retailers. SPAR Austria aims to integrate as many existing Unimarkt franchisees as possible into its network of independent retailers, ensuring job security for employees within an Austrian organisation and maintaining local supply in numerous towns.

“For over 70 years, SPAR Austria has been a reliable wholesale partner to independent retailers. SPAR was therefore the preferred partner of Unimarkt franchisees. We are delighted to make our long-standing experience and expertise available to future SPAR retailers and to continue guaranteeing local supply in many towns and villages with the takeover of 23 Unimarkt stores,” said SPAR Austria CEO Hans K. Reisch.

Unimarkt Managing Director Andreas Hämmerle said: “It was important to us that as many Unimarkt stores as possible remain at their current locations. Our franchisees are in good hands with SPAR Austria.”

Source: SPAR Austria

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About SPAR Austria

The origins of the SPAR brand in Austria date back to 1954. The current SPAR AG was created in 1970 when the original founding families joined other regional wholesalers to form SPAR Austria AG, a 100% privately owned Austrian company. Company-owned stores operate throughout the country in the multi-format retail strategy developed since the 1960’s whilst independent retailers operate under sub-license from SPAR Austria and continue building the brand’s presence.