SPAR Scotland commences major store development programme

As part of its major store development programme, SPAR Scotland recently relaunched its convenience store at Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfriesshire.

The company has invested in energy-saving refrigeration to expand the chilled and produce range. There is also a new chilled beers, wines and spirits zone to highlight the depth of the customer offer. In addition, the store features a CJ’s food-to-go counter, a back-lit spirits display, local craft bakery items and other locally sourced ranges.

“This is all about a fresh look and feel for the SPAR offer in Scotland,” said operations director Brian Straiton. “Ahead of our peak summer tourist season, the fresh look SPAR store at Gatehouse of Fleet is the first of several more seasonal concept stores to open.

“The store has the very latest SPAR internal and external graphics package,” he added. “This not only modernises the overall look of the store, but it allows us to highlight the strong links built with this community over the past 30 years. Like most of our stores across Scotland, we consider our customers to be our neighbours, and this has been reflected in the initial feedback we have had from the local community.

The store was officially relaunched on 6 May, with store manager Pamela Dale and her team welcoming both existing and new customers into the store. Local resident Kym Telfor, who cut the ribbon on the original opening of the SPAR store 30 years ago, also attended the in-store event.

This investment in the Gatehouse of Fleet shop follows the opening of the company’s first SPAR Market store last month in Dalbeattie, Dumfriesshire. The SPAR Market format store is the first of its kind in Scotland, signalling a ‘step-change’ in SPAR Scotland’s customer fresh food and produce offering. The SPAR Dalbeattie store has a strong focus on fresh fruit and vegetables, chilled foods, and caters for key customer missions including ‘making a meal’ and ‘grab and eat’.

CJ lang & Son is looking to purchase more company-owned stores. “If you are interested in talking to the team about a new SPAR store or if you have spotted an ideal location for a new store in your neighbourhood, you can call the property team for an informal chat on 01382 512000,” said Straiton.