SPAR

Infobox Company
company_name = SPAR
company_
company_type = Public
company_slogan =
foundation = 1932
location_city = Amsterdam
location_country = Netherlands
key_people =
industry = Retail
products = Grocery Stores, Convenience Stores, Discount Stores Hypermarkets, and more
revenue = profit € 27 billion (2006)
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.spar-international.com/ Spar's Website]
footnotes =

"SPAR" is the world’s largest food retailer, with approximately 15,000 stores in 35 countries worldwide [http://www.spar.com.au/corporate.asp Corporate] - Spar Australia, 25 November 2007] . "SPAR" originated in the Netherlands in 1932 and now, through its affiliate organisations, operates through most European countries, South Africa, Asia and Australia. It operates on a principle similar to co-operative stores elsewhere, with retailers grouping together to get bulk discounts from suppliers/wholesalers. Additionally, the purpose to provide the procurement, storage, and distribution of fast moving consumer goods to Independent Supermarkets, remains vital to the function the company .

History

In 1953 an International "SPAR" office was opened in Amsterdam to control and further develop the organisation throughout Europe and other continents. Most "SPAR" stores are in Europe, but they can also be found in a few countries outside of Europe, such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Australia, Mauritius, China and Japan. In Japan the store operates under the name "HOTSPAR", although the store logo colouring remains unchanged. In the United Kingdom SPAR has become known primarily as a convenience store format but in the Ireland SPAR operates using the subformat EUROSPAR too.

The name, which was originally DE SPAR, is an acronym formed from the Dutch phrase "Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren Allen Regelmatig" (literally: "through united co-operation everyone regularly profits"). Probably not just by chance, "spaar" means "save (money)" in Afrikaans, Dutch, Danish, German and Norwegian. "De spar" in Dutch means "the fir tree", hence SPAR's logo. As the organisation expanded across Europe, the name was later abbreviated by dropping "DE", but the underlying meaning remains (in Italy, the name is still "Despar", though in keeping with the international branding, the "SPAR" section of the logo is highlighted, and the larger stores are still called EUROSPAR and INTERSPAR).

A SPAR store may be owned independently, by a franchisee, or be part of a chain, depending on the model applied in any given country. The owners of the parent company vary from country to country and may include the store owners themselves. The only common link between the stores in different countries is the branding - the name and the current logo, which was designed in 1968 and has remained unchanged ever since. There are a number of sub-brands under the SPAR brand, with larger supermarkets being branded "EUROSPAR" or in Africa "SUPERSPAR", smaller stores "SPAR Express", and hypermarkets "INTERSPAR". Not all of these brands or formats are used in every country, however.

The company has been a major sponsor of the European Athletic Association and its events since 1996.

The only Drive-Thru Spar in the world is on the Cliftonville Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

logans

* "SPAR is de boodschap": the original Dutch slogan (a play on the double meaning of "boodschap": "grocery" and "message")
* "Wat je dichtbij haalt is lekker" ("What you get from close-by, is good" ) : the current Dutch slogan; it's a play on the Dutch saying "what you get from far, is good")
* "So near, so SPAR"
* "Under the tree, at SPAR" (former Irish slogan, jingle still retained today)
* "Du kjenner oss" ("You know us"), Norwegian slogan
* "More passion for good prices", Romanian slogan
* "Always close to you", Spanish slogan
* "Good for you", South African slogan
* "Dobro zame" ("Good for me"), Slovenian slogan
* "There for you", United Kingdom slogan
* "Big On Value", "Expect a little more" previous Northern Irish Eurospar slogans, now brought into line with the Republic of Ireland under the slogan The Supereasy Supermarket
* "Always there for you", Republic of Ireland slogan
* "The Super Easy Supermarket", Irish Eurospar slogan.
* "Making everyday better", Australian slogan, previously "Good Food, Easy Shopping"
* "Alles da – Interspar!" ("Everything there – Interspar"), Austrian Interspar slogan.
* "Taste of Spar", Austrian slogan
* "Mindig Spar" ("Always Spar"), most used Hungarian slogan
* "Baš za mene, Interšpar za mene" (Perfect for me, Interspar for me) - Croatian and Serbian Interspar slogan
* "We got Spar", United Kingdom Slogan (1990s)

SPAR International Statistics 2006

* *A number of stores opened late in 2006

External links

* [http://www.spar-int.com SPAR International]

References

* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/91/91269.html Yahoo! - SPAR Handels-Aktiengesellschaft Company Profile] (2,500+1,175+200 stores)
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/135/135684.html Yahoo! - SPAR (UK) Limited Company Profile] (2,600 stores)