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First printed in Checkout Magazine
Spar opens flagship in China
Spar has opened its largest store in the world in China. The 100,000sq ft store is located in Zhengzhou in the Henan Province and is a joint venture with the Henan Star Commercial Company, which operates more than 200 stores in the region.
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| Spar opens largest store in the world |
Spar and Henan Star are planning a further 60 stores and three Spar hypermarkets in Henan over the next three years.
The new store is divided into three distinct areas: non-food, fresh produce and ambient grocery.
It is organised in zones with the non-food area leading customers from the entrance through several shopping worlds and a table & cook section to food displays. Fresh produce is mer-chandised with a market-style layout.
The store includes a display of value lines including Spar Real Deals and it has a strong focus on local lines. Top selling local products include a Mongolian brand of cows milk, peanut oil, tofu and dried fish. Local fresh produce suppliers are supported by a dedicated distribution centre helping the retailer offer farm-to-plate reassurance in the supply chain.
The store also features Spar Internationals new concept restaurant, serving food from all over the world, and a crêche. It employs 500 staff and stocks a total 15,000 skus. The store joins two existing Spar stores in Shandong and Hubei. According to Spar, these stores are generating sales of 600m.
Gordon Campbell, managing director, Spar International, said: When we signed our first licence agreement, we were confident Spars voluntary chain system would be successful in China. Spar has been welcomed by the Chinese Government as a counter-active force against increasing com- petition from international retailers and a supporter of independent business.
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