Following today’s release of Spar’s figures for the 26 weeks ending 28th March 2025; Aliyah Siddika, retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “While its H1 results were unimpressive, as it failed to achieve revenue growth, Spar has made strides in the first half of the year to consolidate its proposition and improve profitability. The retailer ceased operations in Poland, and the subsequent decision to discontinue its activities in Switzerland and the United Kingdom (AWG) will allow it to concentrate on its more successful market: Southern Africa. The group reported a marginal 0.2% decline in turnover for the 26 weeks ending 28 March 2025 and yet experienced 1.6% growth in operating profit, reflecting its continued commitment to reduce costs at the KwaZulu-Natal distribution centre.
“Spar’s Southern African operations, the core part of its proposition, continued to outperform the group despite a challenging retail environment, including inflation, political unrest in Mozambique, and store closures in Gauteng, with turnover up 1.2%. Despite these challenges, the retailer is committed to innovation and expanding its consumer base. A notable initiative is its 130-store partnership with Uber Eats, rolled out in Q1 FY2024/25, enabling Spar to reach new customers. The SPAR2U on-demand shopping app has also seen a 174% increase in delivery volumes, indicating strong consumer demand for online grocery shopping and rapid delivery services. Spar is also expanding its pharmacy offering, with plans to double its pharmacy network by 2028. This strategy aims to enhance customer appeal by transforming convenience stores into multifunctional spaces.
“Comparatively, Ireland’s revenue declined by 0.6% amid an increasingly competitive convenience market. To prevent its Irish operations from following the same downward trend as its discontinued European ventures, the retailer plans to expand its private-label range, emphasising its value proposition to customers. However, the retailer needs to go further by ensuring a diverse product range that aligns with changing consumer preferences. This range must include more organic and healthier options, which will help it compete with major players like SuperValu and Centra in the Irish market.”
