SPAR is a South African retail brand that has been in operation since the 1930s. The company was founded by Adriaan van Well as a grocery store in 1932 and opened its first branch in Durban, South Africa in 1963. Today SPAR has 850 stores across South Africa and employs an average of 11 000 people.
SPAR’s origins can be traced back to the Dutch grocery chain, SPAR, founded by Adriaan van Well in 1932. Two IGA members, Musgrave and Buffet, purchased the licence to SPAR in 1963 and started the first store in Durban.
In South Africa, SPAR was initially called “The Store” but they changed this to avoid confusion with Woolworths’ “The Shop” which was also a general merchandiser at that time.
- In 1932, SPAR (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was founded in Durban.
- In 1958, SPAR opened its first store in Johannesburg.
- By 1988 the company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and by 1998 they had expanded into Namibia and Zambia.
SPAR is a brand that people trust and has been around for quite some time. Today SPAR has 850 stores across South Africa, which include supermarkets, convenience stores and liquor shops. The brand is well represented across all provinces, with 390 outlets in Gauteng alone.
The key reason they have so many stores is that they are a trusted name in food products like fruit and vegetables. They also offer services such as meat counters (which sell beef/pork etc), bakery departments (where you can buy bread) and also butchery departments where you can buy meat cuts such as chicken breast fillets or pork chops etc.
SPAR is a grocery store that aims to give customers the best shopping experience possible. This means ensuring that products and fresh food are available at competitive prices, and stocking a wide variety of products so you can find everything you need in one place.
