Leading retail brands SPAR and EUROSPAR have announced plans to add 60 new stores to their combined network by 2025, culminating in a €65 million investment from BWG Foods, along with independent SPAR and EUROSPAR retailers. This expansion will bring the total number of stores across the combined network to 525 nationwide.
BWG Foods has already identified a number of potential greenfield and brownfield sites and will be focussing on the emergence of new communities in the vicinity of Ireland’s major cities on the back of new housing developments. The new sites will have the potential to create over 1,100 new jobs.
In addition to its new store openings, SPAR and EUROSPAR have plans to upgrade over 100 existing sites nationwide which will include the rollout of an innovative new store design for the EUROSPAR supermarket format that will pioneer a number of new carbon reduction features including the latest refrigeration technologies, solar panel installations and recycled fixings. The new design and supporting features were designed by the BWG Foods’ team in conjunction with its global partners in SPAR International.
SPAR and EUROSPAR’s new expansion plans come on the back of very strong growth for the combined retail network in 2022 with retail sales increasing to over €1.6 billion in 2022, representing growth of 4.5% on the previous year, as grocery sales began to normalise post Covid. Notably, trading across city centre and business park stores continued to recover throughout 2022.
January and February this year have already seen further performance uplifts on 2022 with SPAR and EUROSPAR now targeting retail sales of €1.67 billion in 2023, accounting for a forecast increase in consumer spend and the contribution of new stores that are projected to come onstream during the period.
The new store and future growth ambitions were announced at the SPAR and EUROSPAR Retailer Convention in Killarney which was attended by more than 300 retailers from across the country.
Commenting on the announcement, Leo Crawford, Group Chief Executive, BWG Group, said “Our SPAR and EUROSPAR brands continue to perform very well, and our exceptional sales are a tribute to the strength of the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands which have been at the forefront of the grocery sector in Ireland for the past 60 years. We are very confident about the opportunities for future growth and look forward to supporting our retailers to further develop and expand their businesses over the coming years. Changing consumer behaviours are transforming the retail landscape and we will be ensuring that our SPAR and EUROSPAR stores respond with innovative solutions to meet the needs of the more than 1 million customers who visit our stores every day.”
The SPAR retail brand was first launched in Ireland in 1963 when the first store was opened in Artane, Dublin, in conjunction the Ralph family who, 60 years later, are still associated with the brand. Together, SPAR and EUROSPAR complete over 1 million customer transactions every single day throughout Ireland.
