CJ Lang opens first SPAR Market format in Scotland

CJ Lang & Son has launched the first SPAR Market format in Scotland, after acquiring a third-generation family run convenience store, Kinnaird’s Nisa Local, in Dalbeattie, Dumfriesshire.

The SPAR Dalbeattie is CJ Lang’s first new company store since 2017, and part of their ongoing business transformation programme.

“We are very excited to be back in the property market to acquire new convenience stores as part of our business strategy of adding an additional 3 to 4 stores per year to our company-owned estate,” Brian Straiton, company-owned stores operations director at CJ Lang, said.

The Spar Market format is designed especially for larger convenience stores, with a ‘step-change’ in their customer fresh food and produce offering. The Dalbeattie store has a very strong focus on fresh fruit and vegetables, chilled foods, and caters for key customer missions including ‘making a meal’ and ‘grab and eat’.

“SPAR Market is an exciting new fresh, chilled and produce store format for CJ Lang and SPAR Scotland that will really help to differentiate and grow from our traditional SPAR customer offer,” Straiton noted.

As well as a range of products available in store from a large deli counter, the store features an extensive range of fresh produce and food from many other local suppliers. These include Irving’s Bakery, Mitchells of Castle Douglas, Irthingvale Wholesale, Lockerbie Cheddars, Galloway Preserves to name but a few.

“We are delighted to have acquired the Kinnaird’s store. We have acquired a successful family run business and recognise all the great work that James Kinnaird and his team have undertaken in the local community over many years,” Straiton commented.

“As a genuinely Scottish family business we share many similar values with the Kinnaird family. We want to maintain all the great work that they have done, and build upon these, whilst adding additional SPAR Scotland products and services to the store.”

For those customers looking for a food on the go offer, SPAR Scotland’s ‘CJ’s’ Food to Go counter offers delicious ready-to-eat hot breakfast rolls throughout the morning and extends into the evening with a selection of tasty hot food. This is complemented by award winning craft Scottish baker Browning’s, offering a wide selection of bakery products, morning goods and cakes.

A self-serve Costa Express coffee machine, Tango Ice Blast and frozen Calippo slush machine offer immediate refreshment for customers on the go and will be installed in the coming weeks. A home shopping delivery service will continue, and that will be complemented with the introduction of the Snappy Shopper app.

Marie McMinn, the store manager, along with her team, invited the community to an in-store launch event on Friday, 22 April. Customers took the opportunity to pick up free goody bags, spin the wheel to win prizes, and to sample some treats. The event also saw two local organisations, Alma Mcfayden Care Home and Dalbeattie Playgroup receive donations of £1,000 each from SPAR Scotland.