SPAR Hellas, SPAR Partner in Greece, aims to have 80 SPAR stores open by the end of 2018. It also wants to add another 300 over the next four years.
It’s already opened eight stores since officially relaunching the brand in the country earlier this year.
To date, SPAR Hellas has invested most heavily in the island of Naxos where, in June, it opened SPAR Koutelieris. A conversion of an existing store, SPAR Koutelieris has double the sales space, growing from 800sqm to 1500sqm. It also has 50 parking spaces and has created 45 new jobs.
The SPAR Partner also operates stores on the islands of Skiathos, Crete, Kos and Kefalonia, as well as in Athens. It now wants to open more stores in the cities of Larissa and Agrinio, and on the islands of Rhodes and Kythnos. Its aim is to have 18 SPAR Supermarkets open by the end of August.
The company says it has made good progress in developing its Own Brand ranges in Greece. It now has more than 550 own-brand products available in the market. It estimates that the total SPAR Own Brand collection will top 900 products by the end of 2018. This is thanks to its partnerships with local suppliers, it claims.
The SPAR Partner says it has also been “strategic” about the location of its stores. It claims it has focused on the most “touristic” areas to benefit from the brand’s global recognition.
Finally, it says its ultimate goal is to “create and manage the largest cooperative network of retail outlets by independent retailers in the country”.