SPAR has seen annual retail sales break the €40 billion mark for the first time, this week reporting global sales revenue of €41.2 billion for the year ending December 31st, 2021. The figures represent a 3.3% year-on-year increase in global sales revenue at constant currency values.
At the end of the year there were 13,623 SPAR branded stores operating across 48 markets worldwide in five regions. When viewed over two years, comparing the pre-Covid-19 period of 2019 to revenue in 2021, global sales grew by 10.7%, based on average annual exchange rates. This growth has been sustained over a longer period with a 2017-2021 compound annual growth rate of 5.1% and an increase of more than 840 stores worldwide in the same period.
Tobias Wasmuht, CEO of SPAR International, said: “We have grown both our presence and scale in ever-changing and demanding conditions, thanks to the competitive advantages of the SPAR multi-format strategy and the critical role of independent retailing in communities across the globe, which were again a clear factor of success throughout 2021.”
The results were announced at the International SPAR Congress 2022 in Amsterdam, at which representatives of the worldwide SPAR organisation gathered from over 40 countries worldwide.
This year’s International SPAR Congress marks the historic celebration of the 90th Anniversary of SPAR, celebrating the global progress it has achieved from its Dutch origins when Adriaan van Well founded the SPAR brand by uniting independent retailers in 1932.
Regional developments
SPAR used the occasion of the International Congress to also announce that the brand will launch in South America for the first time later this year, having signed a partnership agreement with Los Jardines, a leading family-owned and operated food retail chain in Paraguay. The retailer was established in 1994 and now operates stores under the Los Jardines and Los Jardines Express brands across Paraguay.
In addition, SPAR will expand its footprint in Europe with the opening of SPAR Latvia in mid-2022. It will be the 18th European Union country in which the SPAR brand has a presence. The company is also set to establish the SPAR brand in Central Asia with the launch of SPAR Kazakhstan which is targeted for the second half of 2022.
Mr Wasmuht said SPAR is well placed to grow and prosper as it leverages the power of its international network, along with increased international collaboration across retail and our supply chain.
“Indeed, the SPAR philosophy of Better Together remains as strong today as it did 90 years ago,” he said.
Read the full SPAR International Annual Report 2021 here.