For the first time in history, Spar secured a leadership position in Austria with 34.6% market share, overtaking rival Rewe. The retailer gained 1.8% share and achieved sales growth of 16%, well above the market average of 10%. Spar grew its store numbers to 1,578 last year and invested strongly in the expansion of its logistic centres.
The retailer’s ambition doesn’t stop at the Austrian borders. “Spar Austria wants to become the best retail company in Central Europe” said CEO Fritz Poppmeier to Lebensmittel Zeitung. In Hungary, with a 2.1 billion euros gross turnover and in Slovenia, with 733 million euros, the company is the number two. In Croatia, the company is the third retailer with a turnover of 733 million euro.