SPAR Spain partner Ignacio de las Cuevas began the year with the opening of a new 150m² SPAR Express supermarket in the town of Mino in the province of La Coruna. This follows 11 openings of stores under the SPAR Express store format in the retailer’s region in the preceding twelve months.
In the area that Grupo Cuevas operates the SPAR Brand under license from SPAR Spain, population decline has been marked in recent years. Following the pandemic, residents have been returning to these areas in the countryside, due to the growing wish of its residents to be closer to nature. The SPAR Express stores were opened in response to this increase in population and the rising growth in the need for local shopping outlets. The eleven stores opened during the year grew the SPAR retail sales area by 1,990m² in the provinces of Lugo and Ourense, as well as La Coruna and Pontevedra.
Grupo Cuevas is present in towns where there is no other shopping option, driving a need for good stores from which to purchase food, personal hygiene, and daily grocery products. The SPAR Express stores are an added value to these communities, as people can do their shopping without leaving their towns, and support local producers. On average, the SPAR Express stores offer 1,300 SKUs, with the number depending on the retail sales area which ranges from 100m² to 500m². In each store, two to seven colleagues provide customers with service in the fruit & vegetables, bread, and delicatessen sections that are available. Six of the stores opened also offer customers the additional convenience of a butcher counter. Opening hours vary per store in line with the needs of the residents of the surrounding areas.
2022 also saw the opening of a large 1,550m² SPAR Supermarket that has created employment for 24 colleagues in Ourense. The SPAR Spain partner began 2023 with a total of 60 SPAR Express stores which have a total sales area of 10,715m², representing an increase of 18% year on year.
