SPAR ups its Russian expansion
SPAR International has reached an agreement with two partners to expand its retail operations in the Moscow region as part of its continued growth in Russia.
The licencing agreements with Intertorg and Azbuka Vkusa will result in a total of 45 SPAR stores in the Moscow region in the next 12 months.
The news follows a record year for SPAR Russia with retail sales growing by more than 30% to £74.06 billion rubles in 2014. The brand also added four new partners to bring the total number of Spar partners in the country to 16 with 420 stores. In total, 57 new SPAR stores were opened in Russia last year.
The new licence agreements with Intertorg and Azbuka Vkusa cover the Moscow region and are on a non-exclusive basis.
Dr Gordon Campbell, chief executive of SPAR International, said: “Over the past 15 years, SPAR has a proven record of resonating with Russian shoppers, with the strength of our brand and offering, our global experience and our partnership model proving itself very attractive to potential partners. The results announced today are proof of the increasing popularity of the brand to a point where, taken collectively, the SPAR Brand now ranks among the top 10 retailers in Russia.”
