The management board of SPAR Austria has decided to merge its company-owned and independent retailer sales units, effective 1 January 2024.
The decision follows the forthcoming retirement of Alois Huber, the current head of sales for independent SPAR retailers, in March 2024, the retailer said in a statement.
Huber will retire from the company on 1 April 2024, after over 40 years with the business, including 15 years as head of sales for independent SPAR retailers.
Gerhard Weinberger, responsible for SPAR Austria's company-owned stores, will lead the new sales unit, while Michael Pecher will serve as the new head of independent retail sales.
Elsewhere, Romana Kaufmann will expand her existing role to include the coordination of all SPAR stores.
The management reorganisation, initially planned for about one year, will combine the knowledge from both sales units to increase knowledge sharing, the retailer said.
Hans K Reisch, deputy chair of SPAR Austria, said, "There is a wealth of knowledge and experience in the currently separate sales units of company-owned stores and independent SPAR retailers.
Therefore, we intend to make this know-how usable for all within the business in the best possible way. I emphasise that the focus is on benefitting all sectors. By setting this course, we are securing the success of both sales units."
Management Team
Weinberger joined SPAR Austria as an apprentice and worked his way up to manage the company-owned stores in upper Austria for 19 years.
In 2022, he was appointed head of SPAR Austria’s company-owned store organisation, at its central office.
Elsewhere, Pecher started as an INTERSPAR hypermarket trainee and rejoined the company in 2005 after holding various roles outside SPAR.
He was responsible for overseeing the coordination of SPAR Austria's company-owned stores and serving as a crisis coordinator.
Finally, since 2017, Kaufmann has led information management and projects in branches and was responsible for introducing a new checkout system and rapid communication with the stores, among others.
