SPAR UK increases retail sales by 8.5% in 2016

SPAR UK’s retail sales figures for 2016 rose by 8.5% to £2.84 billion, mainly due to a surge of retailers joining the SPAR model, a new marketing approach, and a strong focus on foodservice.

The convenience store chain added 186 new stores last year to bring numbers to 2,620, with a total retail area of 371,189 m2, and sales per m2 up by 4.2%.

The company is now also the largest forecourt retailer in the UK with over 1,000 sites and a significant growth coming from multi-site retail partners in 2016. These results see SPAR UK land in third position in SPAR International’s global retail sales.

New ways of interacting with customers and increased service offering such as fresh food have been some of the growth drivers.

“Our Daily Deli foodservice offering, more fresh food including butchery and deli counters, and our award-winning SPAR Brand range are just some of the reasons shoppers now see us as a go-to destination for great-tasting, fresh food,” said Debbie Robinson, SPAR UK Managing Director.

Boosting their digital advertising and creating targeted promotions for young shoppers have been two other focal points during the last campaign.