The current CEO of Despar Sicilia, Gianni Cavalieri, has been appointed president of Despar Italia, which operates the SPAR brand in 17 Italian regions.
Cavalieri has held a variety of positions with Despar Italia since 2012, including vice president of the retail group.
Paul Klotz of Aspiag Service, who has held the position of president since 2016, will join Cavalieri in the role of vice president.
Following its recent transformation into a consortium, Despar Italia's Board of Directors also sees the addition of two new directors, Marco Fuso (Despar North Ovest) and Francesco Montalvo (Despar Nord Est), who, together with Pippo Cannillo (Despar Centro Sud), Fabrizio Colombo (Despar Sardegna) and Toni Fiorino (Despar Messina), complete the board.
'Greater And Closer Synergies'
Commenting on his appointment, Gianni Cavalieri said, ‘I will foster greater and closer synergies between the consortium companies for the purposes of Despar's unity, its development and the further growth of its private brands."
The new appointment comes days after Aspiag Service expanded its activities into the Lombardy region, opening its first directly-owned store, under the Interspar banner, in Mariano Comense near Como.
Aspiag Service, which operates in the Triveneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions, aims to open 60 stores during the period 2022-2026, both directly-owned and franchised, investing an estimated €300 million.
Overall, Despar Italia operates 1,374 stores under the Despar, Eurospar and Interspar brands.
With a 2021 turnover of €4 billion, the consortium is placed among the top ten Italian retail store brands.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
