SPAR Switzerland has opened a new store in Zurich-Albisrieden, on the 70,500m² site of a former customs warehouse. The new SPAR Supermarket has already made a positive mark in the community, getting involved in running an integration project in cooperation with the RgZ Foundation for people with physical or cognitive impairments. At the store opening, SPAR handed over a cheque of nearly 1,000 Euros to the Foundation.

The former warehouse site covers an area the size of about ten soccer fields and the new buildings on the site include about 800 different apartments and 200 student houses. The diverse living and commercial spaces house residents varying from families to individuals and from students to senior citizens.

This mix is reflected in the diverse offer of the new SPAR store with its sales area of about 400m². At the entrance to the store, customers are welcomed with an extensive range of fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition to a broad selection of products for daily use, special items such as buffalo milk yoghurt or popular Schellen Ursli specialties from the Bündner Mountains, are available. Additionally, the store offers an extensive choice of BBQ meats, paired wines, cool drinks and numerous Swiss and foreign beers. Freshly baked bread is available everyday until closing time.

The new SPAR store was built according to Minergie ECO standards and uses solely environmentally friendly CO2-cooling systems and LED lighting. Waste such as PET and PVC bottles, beverage cartons, energy-saving lamps and batteries are recycled.

Integration project with the RgZ Foundation

The new SPAR store has entered into a remarkable partnership with the RgZ Foundation, which has been supporting people with physical and mental disabilities for more than 50 years – helping them with social integration and personal development.

The SPAR store’s sales team, managed by Natasa Djukic and Claudia Egger, includes a patient of the RgZ Foundation – helping them adjust to the working world by providing them with a well-supervised position. Commenting on the collaboration, Managing Director of SPAR Switzerland, Hans Beer, said: “At SPAR we have a long-standing support and monitoring system that new employees benefit from. Our integration project employee is supervised by a SPAR employee and works in different areas of the store – based on their individual capabilities.”