Britton breezes to gold in Slovenia

Wicklow's Fionnuala Britton won gold at the 18th SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Velenje, Slovenia on Sunday.

The Kilcoole AC athlete ran a determined race from the front, shaking off the attention of all her challengers before pulling clear with a couple of laps to go.

Maintaining a smooth rhythm throughout, she raced to a wide-margin victory over Dulce Felix of Portugal, with Gemma Steel of Britain back in third.

The victory was Ireland's second gold medal in the race after Catherina McKiernan's success at the inaugural championships back in 1994.

In last year's race, Britton faded out of the medals to finish in a frustrating fourth place and that was very much in her thoughts going into today's race.

Speaking after the race, the new European Champion said:

"I can hardly believe it. That was the plan (to make the running) from that start and I knew I had to it. After last year, this is the only medal I wanted. In a ways, it's been on my mind for the whole year."

In the men's race, Joe Sweeney of Ireland ran a huge race to finish fifth behind Atelaw Bekele of Belgium.

The Dundrum South Dublin AC athlete raced to prominence early and was in second place behind runaway leader and eventual winner Bekele as he approached the bell.

However, he was unable to maintain his position amongst the medals through a punishing last lap, but stayed on dourly to finish a very honourable fifth place.

The men's team finished sixth overall, with Paul Pollock contributing with a fine debut performance at the championships, which saw him race home in 26th place.

SPAR Launches Four New Stores in Australia

SPAR Australia is proud to announce the opening of new SPAR stores in Australia in Hillcrest, Bermagui, Coraki and Texas.

Since December 2010 SPAR Australia has converted 19 Metcash supplied stores to the group and has welcomed another 12 independent retailers to the group. SPAR's business principal of supporting independent retailers through the motto of "family business helping family businesses" is one of the key reasons why store owners join the SPAR brand.

Since becoming Managing Director of SPAR Australia in December 2010, Lou Jardin has vowed to continue to provide competition at the wholesale level, ensuring independent Retailers are able to source deals that allow them to compete in the market and ensure the survival of family businesses in the grocery industry.

Locally owned and operated, the stores are part of the worldwide SPAR family. Over 12,139 SPAR stores across 35 countries meet the needs of over 11 million customers daily. At SPAR you can be assured of great service, a great range, low prices every day and specials that will SAVE you money!

SPAR opens in the Middle East

The opening of the first SPAR supermarket in the Middle East is part of the global expansion strategy of SPAR International. By 2015 we plan for SPAR to have significant presence not only in the UAE but also across a number of other GCE countries. This exciting opening in Abu Dhabi increases the global footprint of SPAR with the UAE becoming the 35th country in which SPAR operates." Dr. Gordon Campbell, Managing Director, SPAR International BV., announced in Amsterdam.

This first SPAR supermarket in Abu Dhabi has a sales area of 2,200m² and operates on one floor. It is located in the important Khalidiya business district behind the Prestige building. The SPAR supermarket offers a range of over 20,000 products to meet the needs of quality conscious customers and families. The key focus of the store is on freshness, quality, value and service.

The fresh food departments are exceptional with a wide choice of fruit, vegetables, delicatessen, meat and fish products. A special feature of the store is a comprehensive range of food to go including European, Arabic and Indian cuisine. Value is derived to the customers not only through outstanding everyday low prices and special promotions but also through a comprehensive range of private label products. The store offers more than 500 private label products, combining locally and regionally sourced SPAR products, and international SPAR brands imported from Europe. The intention is to grow this range over time, supporting it with even more local and regionally sourced items.

The opening of this supermarket provided employment to 120 people who will all benefit from the skills in retail development training which SPAR International is able to provide through our local partner. SPAR promises truly international shopping standards at local prices; an unparalleled experience, with international food ranges, imports and ingredients for richly diverse regional cuisines. The store is also supported by an optician, a banking services centre, a Pizzeria and Café.

The second SPAR store in the UAE, a compact hypermarket of 3,700m² sales area, will open in the Khalifa district of Abu Dhabi before the end of the year. Plans are advance to open further stores in 2012 and the target is to have 9 stores, hypermarkets and supermarkets, operational by the end of 2013. All the stores will deliver an international shopping experience, reflecting the SPAR brand retail values. SPAR provides unmatched expertise in the field of food retailing, combined with best practice in design and merchandising.

SPAR International has been able to work with our local partner, SPAR UAE, to bring expertise from around the world to Abu Dhabi. The SPAR supermarket brings best practice in international food retailing to our customers. SPAR will provide a unique shopping experience based on the SPAR brand values of Freshness, Quality, Value and Service. Our partner in Abu Dhabi has local knowledge of the market and trends, understands consumer demands and expectations, and together we will bring international world class retailing experience to all of our locations in the UAE.

SPAR International extends European Athletics sponsorship until 2015

European Athletics and SPAR International are pleased to announce that SPAR, the world's largest organisation of independent food retailers, has extended its commitment to athletics on the continent for a further four years until the end of 2015.

SPAR International has been the principal sponsor of European Athletics since 1996. The new contract commences in January 2012 and will incorporate the following European Athletics events:

· European Athletics Championships 2012 and 2014

· European Athletics Indoor Championships 2013 and 2015

· European Team Championships 2013, 2014, 2015

· SPAR European Cross Country Championships 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Hansjörg Wirz, President of European Athletics, said: “We are delighted that SPAR will continue as our main partner. We have had a fantastic relationship with SPAR over the past 15 years and we value the company’s continued support as we continue to address our ambitious plans for athletics in Europe.”

Christian Milz, Director General of European Athletics, also welcomed the news of the renewal: “The added value that SPAR brings to promoting athletics in Europe thanks to its thousands of shops is of huge importance to us.”

“I am sure our close relationship with SPAR over the next four years will ensure that we can continue to showcase both our main events and our initiatives in youth development and mass participation in line with SPAR’s own goals and values,” he said.

Dr. Gordon Campbell, SPAR International Managing Director, said: “European Athletics championship events provide SPAR with a cost effective, good level of brand exposure. Through our partnership with European Athletics, the SPAR brand is closely aligned with energetic and healthy people competing at the pinnacle of sport on the continent, and this combined with our support of national and local athletics events is the right synergy for us.”

SPAR International was pleased with the brand exposure at the Barcelona 2010 European Athletics Championships. A television audience of 368 million watched last summer’s event during live broadcasts (965 million cumulative audience including news), underlining the continued popularity of European Athletics’ flagship championships.

“European Athletics events are a great platform for building the SPAR brand worldwide. We are very much looking forward to the next championships in Helsinki in 2012 and then Zürich in 2014 as European Athletics switches to a two-year cycle for its main championships,” said Dr. Campbell.

The sponsorship renewal means SPAR will be principal international partner for the Göteborg 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the to-be-awarded 2015 European event as well as the 2013, 2014 and 2015 European Team Championships. SPAR also will be the title sponsor of the annual SPAR European Cross Country Championships through 2012 to 2015.

SPAR launches first Hypermarket in New Delhi

Date, New Delhi, India. SPAR International, the world’s largest independent food retail chain with a presence in 34 countries, has unveiled its first hypermarket in India’s capital city.

Stretching over 7,500m2 on a single floor, this large-format SPAR store is located at the Pacific, Tagore Garden in West Delhi. This is the sixth SPAR store in India, with the other five located in the cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mangalore. Freshness, choice, value and service are the brand pillars of SPAR India and form the core of its retail philosophy.

SPAR’s New Delhi store promises truly international shopping standards at Indian prices. The customer experience is unparalled. The international store design and layouts at SPAR promise the customer an easy and hassle-free shopping experience.

For ease of shopping, the categories on offer are merchandised in ‘worlds’ i.e Children, Living, Kitchen, Clothes, Gifting, Electronics, Fresh produce (including fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, delicatessen and an in-store bakery), speciality food concepts, basic essentials, Health and Beauty, FMCG food, Wine and Beer and a restaurant.

The SPAR hypermarket has the widest range on offer in a single store with over 100,000 products catering to the needs of quality and value-conscious customers. The SPAR ‘Every Day Low Price’ policy and ‘Best Deal’ promotions guarantees a new concept of value for Delhi customers.

Speaking at the opening, Viney Singh, Managing Director, Max Hypermarket India Pvt. Ltd, said “We hope to take the shopping experience in Delhi to a new level. At SPAR we get international best practices and adapt them to best suit the needs of the local shopper. Also because of our sharp pricing, promotions, loyalty programme, the largest fresh produce section and customer-centric service, our customers look forward to shopping with us every week.”

The hypermarket has some unique aspects not found in other stores. A special feel has been created at the centre of the fresh area that gives the feel of a busy market. The ‘Enjoy Now’ counters help weary shoppers to recharge - fresh juices, Indian savouries, fruit salads, Indian sweets and buttermilks that energise while shopping. There is also a special ‘tandoor’ in the non vegetarian section where kebabs and tandoori items will be freshly made on the spot for customers to eat and enjoy or even take away.

His Excellency, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr. Bob Hiensch who presided at the inauguration, stipulated the long history of SPAR. “The story of SPAR in the early years is the story of Adriaan Van Well, a visionary Dutch wholesaler. He was inspired by a simple yet powerful philosophy that independent wholesalers and retailers can achieve more by working together than working alone. This philosophy that has been optimised in many sectors in the agricultural chain in the Netherlands. Netherlands based SPAR International has modernised this philosophy which is currently prevalent in the modern retail sector in 33 countries”.

Fresh – farm to fork

The Fresh produce section is the largest amongst hypermarket players in India. At SPAR the effort is to maximise procurement of fresh produce directly from the source, i.e the farmers. The bulk of the fruits and vegetables are directly procured and maintained at the desired temperature to preserve quality, freshness and retain nutritive value. To ensure day-long freshness and quality of the highest standards, SPAR uses instore state of the art technology. Cold rooms at every store for each category of fresh produce ensure that customers’ purchases are indeed ‘SPAR Fresh’. SPAR maintains strict international standards in sourcing non-vegetarian products. The fish counter at SPAR offers a wide range of sea as well as fresh water fish that are cleaned and cut to customer specifications and then packed in ice thus ensuring freshness till the customer’s doorstep.

Freshness is one of the most important aspects that shoppers look for in every product they buy and the emphasis that SPAR places on the same is unparalleled. SPAR, in fact, plans to bring in value to the consumer by increasing the number of fresh lines across its food and beverage concepts.

Service – an experience that will bring you back to SPAR

SPAR assures its customers world-class service. The store has been designed in collaboration with the design team from SPAR International keeping the experience and convenience of the customers in mind. Wide aisles for easy trolley movement, high ceilings which give an airy and open ambience, 47 cash tills for fast billing (SPAR maintains the highest ratio of cash tills to retail space in India), the token system at the fish counter for streamlined orders as well as separate billing system at the non-vegetarian counters keeping in mind the religious sensitivities of individuals.