360 branches – Spar: Swiss daughter is for sale

Schweizer Spar Handels AG confirmed the sales plans. You are looking for a new owner who supports the growth strategy of Management in Switzerland, said in a message. The continuity for employees, suppliers and customers must also be guaranteed.

Spar Switzerland has more than 360 locations under the Spar, Eurospar, Spar Express and Maxi and Top CC brands. In April, Spar took 14 branches of the Schnellmann Group. At the end of September 2024, Spar Switzerland employed around 1,600 employees.

“The best solution would be a Swiss possession”
“We don’t have a deal yet, but the best solution would be a Swiss owner with local business interests. Our negotiations are also concentrated on this,” said Gary Alberts, CEO of Spar Switzerland, the AWP press office. Discussions with interested parties are going on. Alberts did not comment on time.

A person trusted the case AWP stated that the conversations were in an advanced phase, but could last for weeks. The Spar brand must remain in Switzerland. Migros and Coop do not belong to interested parties.

Falling business development
The South African Spargroep took over Spar Switzerland in 2016. Last year she announced an assessment from the company. According to the South Africans, this is not satisfactory. Sales and profit recently fell. According to analysts, increases were only registered during the Corona Pandemic.

In the financial year until the end of September 2024, sales fell by 6 percent to CHF 745 million (EUR 795.60 million), the profit fell by 17 percent to 5.6 million in the first 18 weeks of the new financial year, sales fell by another 9 percent. Analysts spoke about a ‘slide’. Many Swiss consumers pay more attention to prices, buying large supermarkets or even abroad, as the Swiss Savings Mother Company is responsible in March.

Million is a fine
A continuous procedure of the Competitive Commission (WEKO) creates extra pressure. The Authority is investigating whether details and wholesalers have concluded a distinctive unacceptable agreement on the service provider to disadvantage suppliers. Spar denies the allegations. There are high penalties. At Spar, an amount of a maximum of CHF 60 million was mentioned – the amount has now been slightly reduced, it was recently said from well -informed circles.

Not only in Switzerland, but also in southwestern England, the business world runs resin -like. Spar South Africa has already withdrawn to Poland. In the future, the South African mother wants to focus primarily on Africa activities. The company also includes activities in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Ireland and Sri Lanka.

Group management sees the problems as a result of a failed expansion strategy and failure of former managers. The new board of directors Mike Bosman has announced legal steps against former TOP Forces to assert possible damage.

Brand with Dutch roots
Spar was founded in 1932 by the Dutch wholesaler Adriaan van Well. The name comes from the leading principle: “Door door one -like Seed Works are more profitable for everyone” – analogue: “Everyone regularly benefits through cooperation.” At the same time, “Spar” in Dutch “FIR”, which also explains the logo with the green tree.

Nowadays, the network consists of around 13,900 branches in more than 48 countries on four continents. The annual turnover is more than 40 billion euros.

Spar was introduced in Switzerland by entrepreneur Juan M. Leuthold in 1989. At that time he signed a franchise contract with Spar International. In 2016, Spar Zuid -Africa took over the majority, while the Leuthold family and the Austrian Spar operator Aspiag kept minority shares.