SPAR Austria Announces Takeover Of 23 Unimarkt Stores

Spar store in Pressbaum, 13.08.2024 | (c) Johannes Brunnbauer

The agreement was reached on 19 November and will be implemented pending approval by the relevant competition authorities.

The Austrian arm of the Dutch retailer has not disclosed the purchase price of the deal.

Eleven Unimarkt locations in Styria, five in Upper Austria, four in Lower Austria, two in Salzburg and one in Burgenland will be converted into SPAR stores, the retailer stated.

SPAR Austria added that almost all of the stores in the deal will be placed under the management of independent SPAR retailers in the future.

Local Retail

The retailer aims to retain all existing Unimarkt employees at the stores involved in the transaction.

Hans K. Reisch, CEO of SPAR Austria, said, “For over 70 years, SPAR has been a reliable wholesale partner to independent retailers. SPAR was therefore the preferred partner of the Unimarkt franchisees.

“We are pleased to now make this long-standing experience and expertise available to future SPAR retailers and, with the acquisition of 23 Unimarkt locations in many communities, to continue ensuring local supply.”

Andreas Hämmerle, managing director of Unimarkt, adds, “It was important to us that as many Unimarkt locations as possible remain at their existing sites. Our franchisees are in good hands with SPAR.”

In October, SPAR Netherlands said it plans to eliminate more than 50 management and operational roles as part of its efforts to streamline its organisational structure.

The retailer noted that it aims to strengthen and simplify its store formats, giving entrepreneurs more room to operate independently.