SPAR (UK) news

Store numbers across the convenience channel continue to rise, with many groups and retailers adding a considerable number of new sites over the latest 12 months, according to the latest data from IGD Retail Analysis and William Reed Business Media. However, further growth was moderated by rationalisation amongst certain retailers. Number of stores 2014 Number of stores 2...

By Sarah Coleman, Senior Retail Analyst - Multichannel I recently visited a brand new store that combines a SPAR convenience store, a burger bar and a restaurant. The store is eye-catching – both inside and out – it’s located in an iconic former cinema, in up and coming Hackney, north east London. It’s certainly not your average c-store…. We were pleased to be invited to the recent launch o...

SPAR UK has announced it is launching its first major mobile marketing drive this week in a move to attract younger shoppers. Appeal to younger shoppers The campaign called 'Shop & Win' is being run in conjunction with i-movo, a digital vouchers firm. The campaign is designed to help SPAR interact with younger shoppers and increase the visit frequency of existing customers by offering the ch...

The UK convenience market is set to be worth £49bn by 2019, according to the latest IGD Retail Analysis forecasts. This represents an increase of over 30% from its current value of £37bn. Shoppers in the UK are spreading more of their spending across a variety of grocery 'channels', such as hypermarkets, online etc. Our latest ShopperVista research shows that nearly all shoppers (95%) use at...

Forecourt retailer Euro Garages has announced a deal to purchase 48 petrol sites from Esso. A strong convenience offer The deal will see the forecourt operator taking on the sites which are located in the Midlands and East Anglia and follows the purchase of 45 Esso sites in the North and North Wales a year ago. These deals mean Euro Garages has nearly doubled its estate in the past year, with t...

James Hall, the Spar distributor for the north of England, has filed financial accounts with Companies House for the year ended 24 March 2013, showing sales up 6.8% to £489m.  Gross profit rose 8.4% to £52.6m, giving a gross margin of 10.7%. Operating profit down Despite rising sales and gross profit, operating profit fell by 30% to £5.5m, leaving an operating margin of just 1.1%.  This was ...

Our Shopper insight manager, Michael Freedman, looks at how the convenience store of the future could be very different and help shoppers fulfil more missions. Untitled 1 Convenience in a multichannel world As IGD’s shopper insight expert on the convenience channel, I am often asked how convenience store shoppers differ to main supermarket shoppers. The answer is simple - they are ...

At this week's IGD Convention, chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch spoke of how  the industry can adapt to take trust to new levels. An opportunity in sourcing, as shopper expectations rise Joanne spoke of a growing number of shoppers who want to know where their food comes from, up from 34% to 56% in the past two years, according to IGD ShopperVista insight. But only 12% felt they wer...

Powering the industry... In such a flat economy, companies are forced to ‘jump start’ any momentum by themselves. At the IGD Convention 2013, we’ll be finding the pockets of growth and show how, by building on them and replicating them widely, we have an opportunity to re-energise the whole industry. The IGD Convention 2013 brings together leaders from across the industry to debate the big...

Celebrating convenience After a break of four years from TV screens, SPAR UK is set launch a new campaign which is intended to celebrate its convenience , and champion its value, product ranges and fresh produce, while "reinforcing its heritage at the heart of local communities". SPAR will kick start this new initiative with a 40 second brand building advert and sponsorship of 'Lorraine' o...