The renaissance of the ‘sleeping giant’ Spar Scotland continued with last month’s tradeshow and conference at Aviemore, one of the biggest Scottish retail events ever.
By Antony Begley
When Colin McLean (pictured) was appointed CEO of Spar Scotland four years ago, few people could have predicted how dramatically he would turn the business around. McLean himself probably wouldn’t have dared predict the level of success he has enjoyed and the speed and scale of the turnaround.
From a business facing an existential threat, McLean and his carefully created senior management team have taken a business that was on its knees and turned it into a professionally run and highly profitable one in just a few years. Yes, they’ve had some luck along the way, with blazing summers and pandemic-fuelled sales growth, but as McLean himself pointed out in his presentation at last month’s Spar Scotland tradeshow and conference, it’s only by having a well-run business that you can fully capitalise on opportunities like these when they come along.
Sleeping giant
There’s little doubt that Spar Scotland is back in the game or, as McLean often phrases it, the sleeping giant has awoken. Last month’s show was the latest milestone on the journey to recovery and was appropriately themed ‘We’re Back’.
Hosted in Aviemore, the event was among the largest retail events ever held in Scotland, with over 800 delegates attending over two days including a raft of independent Spar retailers, company-owned store staff, CJ Lang colleagues and a selection of the great and the good of the industry.
And that’s not including over 180 suppliers who were there to show off their latest wares at the accompanying tradeshow.
The news that generated most interest was the announcement that David Sands was moving his four stores into Spar Scotland, despite his father Lynsey’s vehement proclamation many years ago that he would “never work with Spar again”. The timing of the move was immaculate, allowing McLean to get the event off to an energetic flyer. He will undoubtedly be hoping that many other retailers will follow Sands’ lead in the coming weeks and months, particularly given the current turmoil in the symbol group market.
Generating less buzz in the room but probably more importantly, McLean also revealed the company’s latest accounts. As yet they haven’t been formally signed-off, but the last financial year was a very solid one for the business. Profits are up once more, and all indicators are pointing in the right direction.
As part of the event, four Spar stores received awards to celebrate the incredible work they have been doing throughout the year.
The four category winners across independent and company owned stores are:
- Independent Community Retailer of the Year
Jamie and Denise Howse, Spar Bellabeg - Company Owned Community Store of the Year
Spar Halbeath - Independent Retailer of the Year
Spar Blantyre - Company Owned Store of the Year
Spar Garthamlock
Showcase
The event was C J Lang’s first face-to-face event in over two years and was the perfect opportunity for McLean to recognise and thank Spar Scotland’s customers, retailers, colleagues and suppliers.
He said: “Our 2022 tradeshow has been a great opportunity to engage with our independent retailers, Spar Scotland store colleagues and suppliers face-to-face. We are absolutely delighted with the support we’ve received.
“We made a bold move in taking a fresh new approach and the transformation over the last four years has been astonishing. We have achieved four years of profitable sales growth, we have a robust financial platform to build upon, better business alignment, greater consistency of store operations and a great way of working. We are also modernising the Spar Scotland store business by securing additional investment and planning.
“That extends to the modernisation of the brand in Scotland through our partnership with the Scottish FA and regular advertising on STV all taking our brand to a wider audience across the country.
“Spar is the most-recognised symbol group in the country, and it has been great to see independent retailers appreciating this opportunity. CJ Lang & Son is a Scottish company, with a strong family background, working in partnership with community focused retailers and stores. We are fully committed to building not only our own business, but the Spar stores owned by our independent retailers. Our ambitious plans have everything in place to support retailers in the Spar family. The only symbol group to move independent convenience store businesses forward is Spar Scotland.”
Possibly the biggest news from the conference was the announcement that the David Sands Group had joined Spar Scotland. The group includes four stores, three branded as David’s Kitchen and the Pinkie Farm store in Musselburgh managed by outgoing SGF President Dan Brown.
Spar Scotland CEO Colin McLean was clearly thrilled to be able to make the announcement, another major milestone for him and his team as they continue to rebuild the once ailing Spar brand in Scotland.
He commented: “Over the past four years our business has changed dramatically, and we are now attracting the very best Scottish retailers to join Spar Scotland because of our competitive wholesale package. We are delighted that David and his team have decided to continue the next part of their journey with Spar Scotland and would encourage others to take a fresh look at what we can now offer.”
David Sands said: “Moving to Spar Scotland gives us the opportunity to develop our business into the future as well as provide the local communities where our stores are situated with an even better service. Our vision is to continue to develop a solid business not just for today but for future generations. We believe that Spar Scotland is the only symbol group who can supply all that required support and more.
“We have been extremely impressed with the proposition Spar Scotland has to offer. The team understands what our customers want and how we want to make sure we deliver on their needs. The customer is at the heart of what we do and it’s great to see that Spar Scotland shares these same values.”
