SPAR sales soar – latest figures show the symbol group’s success – Ireland up 10%

SPAR sales soar – latest figures show the symbol group’s success – Ireland up 10%
SPAR Ireland increases sales by 10%

Spar International, reported sales of €39.8 billion for the year ending 31 December 2020, representing a 7.4% increase in revenue at constant currency values.

There are over 13,500 Spar branded stores operating across 48 markets worldwide in five regions. The brand continued its expansion into new markets launching in Ghana in 2020, with 10 new stores operational by the end of the year.

Despite the challenges of operating through the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of Spar countries reported strong growth.  In 16 Western European markets, sales grew 12% to €25.48 billion (64% of Spar’s total turnover). Spar Austria had impressive revenue growth of 16% to record total sales of €8.3 billion, up €1.2 billion on 2019.

Spar Netherlands increased retail in 2020 by 23.5%. The turnover of Spar Italy and Spar Spain grew by 8.4% and 7.2%, respectively.  The consistent theme of independent retailers excelling through the provision of neighbourhood retailing was seen through strong results in markets including Spar UK (12%), Spar Norway (12.5%), and Spar Ireland (+10%).

Continued expansion by the 11 Spar countries operating across Central and Eastern Europe was also observed, where like-for-like sales increased by 8.9% on 2019, with Spar Hungary reporting a sales growth of 9%. In Russia, the Spar brand continues to grow in strength and popularity with like-for-like sales of 6.8% driven by continued multi-format expansion. Spar Poland sales grew by 12% and has plans for significant expansion in 2021. Spar Slovenia and Spar Hungary’s results also highlighted both the critical role that multi-format retailers played throughout the last year with online sales growing by 150% and 250% respectively. Independently owned and operated stores now account for over 35% of Spar stores in Hungary.

Across Africa and the Middle East, the Spar brand deepened its presence in 15 countries and continued its growth trajectory with sales of €6.2 billion – a 2.8% increase on 2019. Spar South Africa reported sales of €5.22 billion. Other notable performers, in what have been sometimes tough trading conditions, were Spar Cameroon (+15%), Spar Mozambique (+14%), and Spar Zimbabwe (+9.55%). In the Middle East, Spar’s performance was characterised by exceptional sales growth for Spar Oman (+25%) and Spar Qatar (82.5%).The UAE remains Spar’s largest market in the region and grew by 2.1% in the year.

As the region that first had to contend with the true impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, SPAR in Asia Pacific produced a solid performance of 1.5% growth over the year and €1.88 billion in retail turnover. Spar China recorded retail sales of €1.55 billion and like-for-like annual sales growth of 7.9% in local currency. In Australia, Spar produced revenue growth of 16.5%, with proximity and neighbourhood retailing proving a popular and winning format as communities shopped increasingly local. Spar Pakistan and Spar Sri Lanka continued their growth momentum by 38% and 63%, respectively.