SPAR International announces the brand’s entry into the Kazakhstan retail market following the opening of the first EUROSPAR Supermarket in Almaty on 30 September. The license to operate the SPAR brand in the country was granted to Skif Trade LLP, a well-established local retail and distribution company. Modelled on international best practices seen within the SPAR network, the new supermarket brings a high-quality store with an assortment tailored to suit customers’ needs.

SPAR Kazakhstan introduced the brand to guests attending a press conference held in Almaty on 30 September. In the presence of local dignitaries and stakeholders, His Excellency, Ambassador of The Netherlands to Kazakhstan, Andre Carstens, gave a speech reflecting on the opportunities the market offers. On this occasion, Skif Trade CEO Demid Samoshkin shared his company’s goal of improving shopper experience in the market, benefiting from the transfer of know-how from other SPAR organisations.

Focus on Fresh

Within the EUROSPAR Supermarket, customers can find an extensive selection of food-to-go items while fresh departments include butchery, bakery, and fruits and vegetables. In the central kitchen area, chefs prepare dishes including pizzas, pancakes, sushi, wok, national delicacies and pastries in full view of customers. Weekly, daily or top-up shopping is also possible with the wide range of grocery products instore. SPAR Kazakhstan offers local consumers a variety of SPAR Own Brand products, sourced from the international brand’s network.

The 2,400m² EUROSPAR Supermarket employs about 200 team members who received training about the principles of SPAR with the support of an online training academy. In the lead-up to the launch, SPAR International supported the local development team with retail store design, marketing and communication campaigns, and access to international retail best practices.

This first EUROSPAR Supermarket was a refit of a company-owned Small store previously operating on that site. The impact of the conversion was immediately clear, with turnover exceeding pre-launch by 250%. Customers could use one of the six self-scanning stations or one of the nine manned checkouts to complete their purchases. “Our new EUROSPAR Supermarket format is designed to evoke a positive customer experience while making grocery shopping easy. The collaboration between Skif Trade and SPAR International teams has delivered a great result”, said Demid Samoshkin.

Multi-format retail strategy

SPAR Kazakhstan has identified opportunities to roll out the brand to several other cities, including Astana and Pavlodar. The SPAR multi-format retailing strategy which has supported the brand’s expansion around the world will be integral to SPAR Kazakhstan’s market penetration plan. Following the EUROSPAR Supermarket opening, which is a format aimed at families, other stores being developed include a SPAR Express convenience format and a SPAR Supermarket which is the neighbourhood format.

Once an understanding of the SPAR Brand has been established with customers through SPAR Kazakhstan’s company-owned stores, a solid foundation will be in place to offer independent retailers a sub-license, enabling them to benefit from the strengths of the global brand, the deep assortment of products through its distribution network, an online training facility and the possibility to absorb the brand values when visiting successfully run company-owned stores.

Combining the expertise of the local team who understand their customers’ needs, and who have strong local sourcing strategies, with international design and top-class fixtures has produced a store that is of an extremely high standard and sets the tone for the future development of SPAR in this market.

Source: SPAR Kazakhstan

About SPAR Kazakhstan

Expanding its global reach, SPAR International has granted a licence to operate the SPAR Brand in Kazakhstan to the SKIF Trade LLP, effective on 1 January 2022. The group has an existing retail and distribution network in the country, with sales of €400 million and a 15% market share. Stores trading within this network includes the Small chain.