Spar Intensifies Competition With New Calabar Mall

Retailing in Nigeria continues to expand with more investments pouring in on a regular basis, thereby increasing the tempo of competition in the segment. And recently, the intensity of competition got a notch higher when Spar, one of the biggest retain chain in Nigeria launched another hypermarket mall in Calabar. The new outlet is Spar’s largest store in Nigeria.

Artee Group, owners of Spar franchise in Nigeria says it decided to invest in Calabar mall as part of its aggressive growth plan for 2016. Other cities where Spar is expected to launch before the close of 2016 include Abia, Enugu and Asaba. While these new investments are going on, Spar has continue to deepen its presence in cities where it already operates like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. So, at the end of 2016, Spar will be a 6 city operator with over 29,000 m2 of retail space from 12 stores.

The launch of Calabar Mall which took place last week was done by former Minister of Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke. While declaring Spar officially open, Duke congratulated Spar for investing in Cross River and commended the Hypermarket for enhancing development in the State.

Also in attendance at the commissioning was Cross River State’s former Commissioner of Sports and now CEO of Hit FM, Patrick Ugbe, alongside several other media personalities. The Children of Access Schools Calabar, one of the leading schools in the city were also in attendance to add colour to the occasion.

According to the Brand’s spokesperson Mr. John Goldsmith, “SPAR is the Hypermarket for all Nigerians irrespective of socio-economic differences. We are eager to give the beautiful people of Cross River amazing offers on high quality items ranging from fast moving consumer goods to home furnishings and electronics.

“Over 50,000 shoppers were present at the store today. At some point shoppers had to be ushered in batches to manage the deluge entering the store. ’He added.
With over 5000 sq. metres in retail space, SPAR Calabar is presently the largest outlet in Nigeria. The Hypermarket now boasts of over 34,000 sq. metres of retail space in the Country. The new Hypermarket, like other outlets offers an array of products, ranging from Grocery, Bakery, Butchery, Fruits & Vegetables, Hot Meals, Wine & Spirits, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Consumer Electronics, Large and Small Home Appliances, Mobile Phones, Laptops & Tablets, Perfumes, Watches & Jewellery.

SPAR is franchised by Artee Group’s Park and Shop for Nigerian operations and is presently located in Victoria Island, Lekki, Maryland Ikeja, MMA2, Abuja Wuse II, Port Harcourt and Calabar.

The launch of Spar shop comes only a couple of weeks after Shoprite opened its Maryland outlet to the public. Shoprite and Spar are two of the leading retail market outfits in Nigeria and in the last few years both franchises have made huge investments in Nigeria, in an aggressive competition for market leadership.

According to Euromoniotor, a global brands and marketing research agency, retailing in Nigeria continues to expand, with strong value sales growth recorded in 2015. The agency also noted that growth in retailing is also stronger than the rate of real GDP growth and this surge can be attributed to the vast and rising size of the Nigerian population, with particularly strong growth seen in the young urban population, which is driving some retailers to modernise their operations.

Euromonitor also added that the Nigerian retail industry will continue on its growth path despite the fact that falling government revenues have led to weaker forecasts. Growth in Nigeria’s young urban population and the shift away from traditional towards modern retail channels are set to be major factors supporting this growth.