Spar International said its multi-format retail strategy helped boost sales in 2011.

In the 12 months to the end of December, sales rose 4.6% to EUR31.1bn (US$), pushing up its cumulative three year retail sales by 16%, the retailer said.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

Spar’s global retail sales grew by EUR1.36bn in 2011, while Spar South Africa put in a “very strong” performance, the retailer said, with sales growth of 8%.

Across Europe, sales in Italy grew 6.2%, in Austria 4.5% and in Belgium 3.9%. In Spain, sales climbed 3%, driven by a mixture of strategies including new store openings, and a programme of store upgrades and improving store standards.

In Spar’s newer countries, China saw sales soared 70% to EUR701m, while in Russia, sales amounted to EUR935m, a 22% increase on last year.

Gordon Campbell, managing director of Spar International said: “Consumers are making less shopping trips and prefer to shop nearer to home, and we have met this trend with moves into convenience retailing in city centre and petrol forecourt stores in a number of Spar countries.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

“We are responding to consumer needs with our multi-format retail strategy, which meets all shopping missions from full weekly shopping for the family to stock up, to daily fresh products to express shopping for convenience items and food to go.”

Spar did not disclose profit figures and officials could not be reached for comment.

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact