Coinciding with the 90th anniversary of SPAR, John van der Ent, CEO SPAR Netherlands, announced the company's expansion plans. The retailer's vision is to double their retail network to 1,000 within three years, from the current level of 455. SPAR Netherlands vision is to be the king of convenience in the retail segment, with expansion in store numbers critical to the fulfilment of that vision.

The current blend of retail formats, spanning from petrol forecourt to neighbourhood supermarket and city stores is enabling ever closer connection to consumers. A number of pilot stores are currently being set-up particularly at high traffic locations to support this growth. Unmanned stores are also being placed in twelve hotels around the country. These vending solutions will also be available for large office environments. “We go from small, to smaller and then smallest,” said John van der Ent.

Delivery pilot programmes

SPAR has also begun a pilot with meal delivery company Deliveroo. This project that fits perfectly with SPAR Netherland’s ambition to position itself between the catering industry and the neighbourhood supermarket. This is a second collaborative delivery programme, following the partnership with Thuisbezorgd (Justeat). The aim is to roll out the collaboration nationally, based on the outcome of the pilot.

Multi-format retailing

SPAR Netherlands has a strong presence in small and large Dutch cities; is increasingly located along national highways and can be found at universities and camping grounds. The multi-format strategy has been key to the rapid advancement in recent years in the Dutch retail landscape.

Read more about SPAR Netherlands in the 2021 annual report from SPAR International.

Source: SPAR Netherlands

Read more news from SPAR Netherlands

About SPAR Netherlands

The SPAR Brand was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by the Dutch wholesaler Adriaan van Well and 16 independent retailers. It was established as a voluntary chain of grocers under the name DESPAR – an acronym of a slogan created by van Well to describe the organisation: Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren Allen Regelmatig, which translates in English to All benefit from joint co-operation regularly.

The Head Office and Distribution Centre are in Waalwijk, from where support is provided for stores operating throughout the country.