SPAR sales boosted by international expansion
SPAR International has announced that its like-for-like sales rose by 1.2% year-on-year in 2014.
The retail chain achieved global retail sales of €31.9 billion which were driven by entry into 10 new territories including in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe as well as new regions in Russia and China.
The results were announced at the 60th International SPAR Congress in Vienna where the organisation also revealed that Dr Gordon Campbell is to step down as managing director after 22 years.
Campbell said: “2014 was a breakthrough year for SPAR with entry into five new countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Our continued focus on growth in new markets while consolidating the strength of the brand in our more established, core markets continues to pay dividends. SPAR now has a proven record of resonating with customers worldwide with the strength of our brand and offering, our global retail experience and our partnership model continuing to prove itself the brand of choice to potential partners across the world.”
During the year, SPAR accelerated its growth in China by increasing its retail sales by 25% to €1.78 billion. There was also strong growth in Russia with sales rising by 33% in local currency terms to 75 billion roubles.
Campbell added: “SPAR is positioned for sustained expansion in 2015. The strong performance in core SPAR countries such as Austria, South Africa and the United Kingdom combined with the impressive growth in retail sales in Russia and China, give confidence in the continued growth and expansion of the SPAR business. Despite what remains a challenging operating environment for many of our partners we can be confident that the momentum will be maintained in 2015 and beyond.”
Due to step down at the end of the year, Campbell will be succeeded as managing director by Tobias Wasmuht who is currently managing director of SPAR China and head of marketing and retail for SPAR International.
