Eurospar brand to be rolled out in South West England

November 1, 2009

Appleby Westward Group, the regional distribution company for Spar in the South West of England, has acquired three supermarkets which the company will roll out as the first Eurospar branded stores in the region.

The former Somerfield supermarkets – in Keynsham, Liskeard and Minehead – have been acquired from the Co-operative Group for an undisclosed sum. The staff from the three sites will join Appleby Westward in a newly created company-owned and operated stores division.

Within the UK, there are currently four Eurospar stores and Appleby Westward will develop the format for the first time in the West Country. The company plans to be operating up to 20 Eurospar stores in its territory over the next 10 years.

Appleby Westward managing director John Pattison said: “This acquisition secures significant volumes for our distribution centres and takes us forward into an exciting new era of operating stores. It represents a big culture change for the company and will add significant strength to the business.” The Liskeard and Minehead stores currently offer customers a home delivery service, and Appleby Westward plans to continue and further develop that service.

Appleby Westward plans to invest up to £750,000 in developing and converting the new stores to the Eurospar format, and aims to have the stores trading prior to Christmas 2009.

“Our plans secure our buying strength with suppliers for the foreseeable future, building extra volumes with the right product mix, helping us develop our merchandising skills and generally giving us a great opportunity to improve our overall offer, which will be of tremendous benefit to our 300 independent Spar retailers throughout the territory,” said Pattison.

“It is the first tangible evidence of our move to become a consumer-led, retail-focused wholesaler, working in partnership with like-minded retailers and suppliers where creating value for all is at the heart of everything the business stands for.”

Eurospar is a supermarket concept that accommodates the weekly family trolley shop with a large range and strong promotions, as well as offering the traditional benefits of a convenience store. The customer focus is on fresh foods and food services, along with a wide range of branded products, Spar own brand and Spar value range products. In addition, a wide range of non-food products are available, such as stationery, magazines, books, CDs and DVDs.

Eurospar is in its infancy in mainland Britain, but in Norway and Ireland, Eurospar has grown to 17% and 30% respectively of Spar’s total retail sales in under five years of operation. In South Africa, where the brand is known as Superspar, 228 stores account for over 50% of retail sales. Customer reaction to Eurospar has been positive with these stores growing to be an integral part of the local communities.

Spar is the leading convenience retail brand in the south west and Appleby Westward regularly co-invests with its retailers. In the last five years, it has co-invested over £10m into store development to help grow independent retailers' businesses.

“While developing our new retail division, we will continue to support our independent customers and their stores strongly. They are, and will always remain our number one priority, and operating our own stores will not change our focus in our support of the independent retailer,” said Pattison. “We continue to look to recruit new, quality businesses run by smart retailers, and encourage our existing independent stores to be serious about supporting the consumer and the Spar brands in the South West of England in the future.”

Pattison: acquisition secures significant volumes for distribution centres