CJ Lang encourages further supplier collaboration to deliver growth

CJ Lang & Son engaged more than 200 suppliers across the UK at its recent briefing sessions where it highlighted the continued growth of SPAR Scotland.

Suppliers heard about CJ Lang’s year-on-year growth in overall sales and depot volumes, underpinned by significant investment in its customer offer, company-owned estate, operations and supply chain.

Over the past 18 months, CJ Lang has acquired 12 new convenience stores, strengthened its SPAR Scotland company-owned estate with the rollout of its Scottish-exclusive ‘Barista Bar’ coffee offer to more than 100 sites, and introduced electronic shelf edge labels in 114 of its company-owned stores.

The business has also advanced its technology infrastructure, with the ‘Relex’ demand planning and forecasting platform now live across its supplier network and on track to be fully operational in all 115 company-owned stores by the end of June.

As part of this development, CJ Lang confirmed it will be in touch with suppliers in the coming weeks to roll out supplier forecasting – a key next step in improving product availability across its network. Suppliers were invited to work closely with the business on this initiative and other joint projects to deliver even greater value to SPAR Scotland customers.

The sessions also highlighted the strong performance of recent customer engagement gamification campaigns. ‘Win With Every Goal’, delivered in partnership with SPAR RDC James Hall & Co, issued over 1.1 million instant rewards and generated more than 880,000 scratchcard plays – well above industry benchmarks. Meanwhile, the ‘Frozen Fortune’ gamification campaign delivered over 1.5 million interactions, including daily £200 holiday voucher prizes, and an average voucher redemption rate of 28%.

CJ Lang outlined its growing focus on digital marketing, including targeted emails, localised engagement through SPAR Scotland store Facebook pages, influencer collaborations, and broader social media activity. The business reaffirmed its commitment to championing Scottish sourcing, with 50% of products on SPAR Scotland shelves coming from Scottish producers – aligning with customers’ desire for quality, value, and support for local.

Looking ahead, CJ Lang is actively inviting supplier collaboration across a range of initiatives, including a strengthened promotional calendar, an extended STV advertising campaign running through to April 2026, and first-to-market opportunities through its dedicated Media Hub. The ‘Discover SPAR Scotland’ campaign, a targeted B2B initiative to attract new independent SPAR Scotland retailers, continues to roll out nationwide.

CJ Lang’s flagship event, the SPAR Scotland tradeshow and conference, returns to Aviemore on 25 September under the theme ‘Inspiring Success’. This event brings together independent SPAR Scotland retailers, store managers, and FMCG suppliers to network, share insights and be inspired to grow with SPAR in Scotland. As part of its ongoing ‘journey of differentiation’, CJ Lang will use the event to energise its retail network with new ideas, partnerships and tools for future growth.

Colin McLean, CEO of CJ Lang & Son, said: “We value the importance of working in close partnership with our suppliers to drive mutual growth and success across the Scottish marketplace. These business briefings are all about transparency, collaboration and driving collective growth.

“With major investments now in place across stores, systems, marketing and operations, we are more focused than ever on delivering strong returns in the Scottish marketplace for our supplier community.

“There has never been a better time to work with CJ Lang and SPAR Scotland, and we look forward to a rewarding year ahead.”