Spar International has announced that it has reached agreement with two partners to expand its retail operations in the Moscow region, as part of its continued growth in Russia.
The licensing agreements, with construction-equipment supplier Intertorg and supermarket chain Azbuka Vkusa, represent a significant strengthening and extension of existing arrangements between Spar International and the two companies. Consequently, there will be a total of 45 Spar stores in the Moscow region by this time next year.
The announcement was made as Spar Russia confirmed a record year in 2014. Retail sales grew by more than 30 per cent to 74.06 billion roubles, which equates to €1.45 billion at the annual average exchange rate. The brand added four new partners during the year, bringing the number of Spar partners in Russia to 16. In total, 57 new Spar stores opened in Russia in the 12 months to December 2014.
Commenting on the success of Spar in Russia, Dr Gordon Campbell, CEO of Spar International, said, “Over the past 15 years, Spar has a proven record of resonating with Russian shoppers, with the strength of our brand and offering, our global experience and our partnership model proving itself very attractive to potential partners."
The CEO of Spar Russia, Sergey Loktev, also commented, saying, “The agreements with Intertorg and Azbuka Vkusa mark the next phase in the development of Spar in Russia."
Intertorg holds a licence with Spar in the St Petersburg region and currently operates 56 Spar supermarkets, including two hypermarkets. The company currently operates 38 supermarkets in Moscow, which will transition to the Spar brand as part of this recent agreement. Azbuka Vkusa currently operates eight spar Supermarkets in the Moscow region. Speaking about the partnership, Vladimir Sadovin, CEO of Azbuka Vkusa, said that the company is committed to the Spar brand.
Spar International established its presence in Russia in 2001. Focusing on freshness and service, its supermarket format has proven very successful, leading to the roll-out of the Spar convenience format, Spar Express and Spar Hypermarket in 2012.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Ciara Mooney.
