Spar announces £125m investment over next 12 months

Spar UK said it will be investing £125 million in the business over the next 12 months to maintain its lead in the convenience market.

Announcing the measure at the Spar virtual conference yesterday (27 May), managing director Louise Hoste said £100m of this would be in stores and the rest in improving the supply chain and IT capability.

“Last year was a year which saw accelerated growth as a result of the dedication and focus of our colleagues. Therefore we are going to support them by investing £125 million in our business in the year ahead,” she said.

“The strength of Spar is the role our independent convenience stores play in local communities across the UK. We want to see our local neighbourhoods thrive.”

Spar has reported sales of 8.5 per cent year-over-year-over-year to four weeks ended 28 March 2021, which it said is an indicator of the symbol group’s retail sales performance over the last two years. Sales growth has been achieved from bigger baskets (+31%) and changes in the mix and pack sizes, it added.

Hoste said the response to the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the collaborative strength of Spar and the critical role of independent community retailing.

“Our independent retailers, store and wholesale colleagues are our real heroes of the last 12 months. They were consistently there for our customers,” she said.

“Our entire network worked extremely hard to navigate the way through the pandemic and as a result of hard work and dedication; we were able to supply stores with exceptional service in order to provide colleagues and consumers with a safe place to work and shop.”

Last year, Spar continued to expand with over 300 new stores and refits. The group is launching a number of data driven mission-focused developments with new formats and propositions, starting with the major redevelopment at Carnon Downs in Cornwall. The 2,600 sqft store is the first in the country to unveil the new Spar UK store design concept.