SPAR Inspire event focuses on future-proofing convenience

Almost 600 delegates attended James Hall & Co’s SPAR Inspire retailer event, where the focus was on future-proofing convenience.

Michael Fletcher, managing director of SPAR UK, kicked off the day with a presentation on the strength of SPAR’s own-brand range of 750 products and the uniqueness of SPAR brand lines to SPAR stores.

He also highlighted the increasing value of having a strong SPAR own-brand range – IGD polling has shown that 68% of people are now purchasing more own-label products due to the cost of living, and 57% said they would pay more for quality own-label products in convenience stores.

Andrew Hall, deputy chairman and joint managing director of James Hall & Co, reinforced the SPAR own-brand message by announcing the imminent launch of another 50 SPAR International lines available to SPAR North of England retailers.

He also highlighted the quality and value to be found with James Hall & Co’s own brands including Cheeky Coffee, Fazilas, Clayton Park Bakery, and Ann Forshaw’s Alston Dairy.

At the event, which was held in Harrogate, there were also SPAR independent retail success stories and category project results shared from key areas including food to go, meal solutions, dairy, and bread and cakes.

From the 24 independently-owned SPAR stores highlighted as case studies, each of them had achieved double-digit percentage growth in both sales and gross profit in their respective category.

The event attracted 30% more suppliers this year, with 58 leading suppliers at the afternoon trade show. Retailers had the chance to win up to £10,000 of free stock ordered on the day through the incentivised trade show, and this year Mark Follen’s Bolton-le-Sands store in Lancashire was the winner.

Peter Dodding, sales director at James Hall & Co and chairman of the SPAR Northern Guild, said: “SPAR Inspire has raised the bar again and I truly hope retailers attending will take stock of learnings and be motivated to invest in their business and capitalise as the future of convenience retailing changes.

“The success stories in the morning sessions from across the SPAR family were very impactful. These have been achieved by utilising our dedicated category management and fresh food sales teams to support either financial investment into a category or simply devoting time into an area to deliver improved performance.”