Spar Italian arm plans to invest 200 million euros in 2017 | Progresiv
Retail consortium Despar Italia, part of Spar International, has reported a 4% annual growth in 2016 sales to 3.28 billion euros, ending the year with 1,159 stores (+2.5%) 
The retail consortium, which consists of six groups, which together manage the Despar, Eurospar and Interspar brands in Italy. Despar Italia is among the top ten grocery retailers in Italy.
In a press statement, Despar announced plans to invest 200 million euros to finance new store openings and to renovate existing stores this year.
In addition, its private label range accounted for 18% of sales in 2016 and the retailer is aiming to increase this figure to 19% in 2017. Despar’s private label offering consists of over 2,700 references, with 225 new products launched in 2016. For 2017, the plan is to add 290 new references, mainly in the premium segment, as well as healthy and organic products, boosting private label sales by 6.5%.
Last year, Despar Italia changed more than 160 recipes in order to offer products that are adapted to new market consumption and lifestyles. (www.esmmagazine.com)
