Israel's largest supermarket chain Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE) is teaming with Amit Zeev, who has the franchise to bring Dutch food retail giant SPAR to Israel. Until six months ago Zeev was CEO of Yeinot Bitan-Carrefour. Zeev and Shufersal have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Under the terms of the agreement, Shufersal will take a stake in the corporation controlled by Zeev, which will finalize a franchise agreement with SPAR to import and market SPAR private brand products and open SPAR stores in Israel.
Zeev, Shufersal and SPAR estimate that they will open at least 10 branches around Israel in their first three years of operations. Shufersal will provide the jointly owned corporation with the opportunity to purchase products from it for the jointly owned corporation's SPAR stores, and the jointly owned corporation will provide Shufersal with the opportunity to purchase SPAR products from it. The parties believe that the initial capital that will be required for the jointly owned corporation is several tens of millions of shekels and it will be provided by Shufersal and other shareholders who will join the corporation.
SPAR has a presence in 48 countries
In July 2022, Zeev and representatives of SPAR signed a letter of intent (LOI) to own a chain of SPAR supermarkets in Israel.
SPAR’s model is to operate though local franchises. It has 13,623 stores in 48 countries serving 14.5 million customers daily. Its annual sales turnover is some €41.2 billion. The chain has four formats: SPAR, SUPERSPAR (EUROSPAR), INTERSPAR, and SPAR Express.
The SPAR branches are the original format, from which, over the 90 years since it was founded, additional formats have developed to meet the needs of different consumers. SPAR branches are 200 to 1,000 square meters in size, and are located in major cities and small towns.
In the EUROSPAR or SUPERSPAR format, stores cover between 1,000 and 3,000 square meters, and are located in malls and city centers. INTERSPAR is the largest format, with stores covering over 3,000 square meters. This format is especially successful in central Europe, China, Russia, and India.
SPAR Express stores are generally in city centers and fuel stations. These are small stores, 100-300 square meters in area.
Besides the stores, SPAR operates 150 logistics centers around the world, and also acts among its franchisees as a wholesale exporter and importer of thousands of its own-brand products and of leading international brands. Its average annual sales growth rate is 5.1%, and its sales turnover is projected to reach €50 billion in 2025.
SPAR operates 10,000 stores in 16 countries in Western Europe, 2,000 stores in 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, 1,100 stores in 15 countries in the Middle East and Africa, and 500 stores in six Asian countries.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 28, 2022.
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