SPAR Sri Lanka has had a very busy start to 2021. Residents of three care homes received much-needed groceries thanks to a highly successful community support initiative. SPAR also expanded the brand's reach, opening two new stores in Kelaniya and Seeduwa during the first quarter of 2021.

Expanding brand reach

In the suburb of Kelaniya in the greater Colombo metro area, a stand-alone SPAR Supermarket brought the brand to the high street on 27 January. About 40km north of the Colombo metro area, near the country’s main airport, the high street of Seeduwa suburb was enriched with a new SPAR Supermarket opening on 25 February.

A total of 30% of the floor space in both stores has been dedicated to fresh foods, including locally sourced foods. With a retail sales area of 1,160m² in Kelaniya and 1,710m² in Seeduwa, these SPAR Supermarkets ensure great shopping experiences. The wide selection of fruit and vegetables, butchery and fish departments, instore bakery, coffee shop and food-to-go departments emphasise the breadth of choice in fresh available.

Compact hypermarket offering

Capitalising on the high street frontage, SPAR Sri Lanka designed the exteriors to ensure customers can see instore. The large parking capacity of both stores ensures all homeward bound shoppers using the main throughways to the nearby large residential areas can easily do their shopping.

In Seeduwa, the store is located to meet tourist shopper needs as well as those of residents. This SPAR store also offers customers a food court with sub-leased pizza and gelato stores complementing the instore coffee shop.

The instore teams are well trained in customer service, product knowledge, and SPAR standards. These skills help them meet the needs of all the local community’s families. With 90 people working in Kelaniya and 80 in Seeduwa, the continued expansion of SPAR Sri Lanka is providing new job opportunities in retail.

Festive openings

With the local community informed in advance of the store launches through press announcements and direct mailings, many shoppers were ready for the grand opening. The local communication was strengthened with external advertising and travelling roadshows. Local newspapers, radio, and television attendance at an opening function further spread the announcement.

Sustainability instore

SPAR Sri Lanka’s sustainability strategy includes the integration of energy-efficient refrigeration and LED lighting instore. When planning the construction of new stores, waste-water recycling is incorporated into the overall investment and design. 80% of the packaging used in the fresh food areas is environmentally friendly.

Community care home support

As part of this initiative, SPAR customers donated products and wrote heart-warming messages to residents. SPAR Sri Lanka packed the groceries into reuseable shopping bags while a donation of essential face masks supported both residents and carers.

Source: SPAR Sri Lanka

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About Sri Lanka

SPAR International granted a license to Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL Group) in 2017 to operate the SPAR Brand in Sri Lanka in a joint venture with the SPAR Group Ltd South Africa. CBL is a well-established organisation founded in the 1960s. It employs 5,000 people across diverse operations. It has strong roots in local communities and a commitment to enhancing food retailing and entrepreneurial opportunities in the market, making it an ideal partner for SPAR.