Dutch retailer SPAR to expand in India; to double workforce

Dutch food retail chain SPAR is planning to scale up operations in India and operate 25 hypermarket stores by 2017 end, doubling its workforce from 3,300 across the country.
SPAR, which re-entered the Indian market last August in partnership Max Hypermarkets, said it is anticipating SPAR India to reach a turnover of 300 million euros by 2019.
"Our growth and success in India provides an ideal case study for the suitability of the SPAR model in emerging markets," SPAR International Managing Director Gordon Campbell said in a statement.
Announcing its India plans during the visit of the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, SPAR said it is planning "for significant growth in India which will see 25 SPAR Hypermarket stores and an anticipated doubling of its current workforce of 3,300 across the country by the end of 2017".

Speaking during his visit to a flagship SPAR Hypermarket in here in the Capital, Rutte said: "It is greatly encouraging to see a company like SPAR, which started as a partnership of Dutch retailers and wholesalers more than 80 years ago, now active in India as well as 40 other countries around the world."
SPAR India operates 16 hypermarkets with four more openings planned this year which will retail an extensive range of food and non-food items.
The company said it has over 4,000 local vendors in India who supply food and merchandise.
Netherlands-based SPAR International reported global retail sales of 31.9 billion euros in 2014 from 12,300 stores in 40 countries.