NEW ST
SPAR SC
Back in th
Spar Scotland has opened its first company-owned store in five yea
T
he last few years have seen a remarkable transformation in fortunes for the Spar Scotland brand under the stewardship of CEO Colin McLean and his much-changed senior management team as the 102-year-old business continues to re-establish its position as the largest Scottish convenience wholesaler and retailer. The latest step on that journey sees the business open its first company-owned store in five years. Having offloaded a number of under-performing stores, Spar Scotland now seems to be back in the acquisition game, this time with a much clearer focus on stores that can deliver on all the fronts that matter.
MARKET FORMAT Spar Dalbeattie in Dumfriesshire is the first store in Scotland to open under the new Spar Market format and the first new company-owned store of any description since way back in 2017. Formerly a third-generation family run convenience store trading as Kinnaird’s Nisa Local, the new Spar Market store is hailed by the company as “the first of its kind in Scotland” and marks a step-change in Spar’s fresh food and produce offering. The Dalbeattie store has a very strong focus on fresh fruit and vegetables and chilled foods, aiming to cater for key shopping missions like ‘making a meal’ and ‘grab and eat’.
The store was officially opened on Friday 22 April with an in-store launch event hosted by store manager Marie McMinn and her team. A proudly community-focused store, every member of the team that works
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at the store lives locally. The launch event saw customers take the opportunity to pick up free goody bags, spin the wheel to win prizes, and to sample some treats. The event also saw two local organisations – Alma McFayden
