Spar is to open its first hypermarket in India. Dr. Gordon Campbell, CEO Spar International made the announcement during the Asia Retail Congress, in Mumbai last week.
“This is a 7,500m² hypermarket in Bangalore and is the first in a chain of Spar hypermarkets that are being opened with our partner Max Hypermarkets, India, which is a 100% Indian owned company. Our short term target with Max Hypermarkets is seven Spar hypermarkets in India,” said Campbell.

Campbell has been responsible for the expansion of Spar into Eastern European and Asian markets. He put in place "Towards 2010", a strategy which sets out a vision for the future development of Spar within the emerging markets of China, India and Russia.

“When we enter a new market Spar seeks local partners. It does not take a shareholding in the business; we provide intellectual capital and expertise. The Spar partnership model supports the development of the food industry within the local and national market," said Campbell.

“A modern food retailing sector will support the rapid modernisation of agriculture, food processing and food distribution in India. It will improve quality, improve food safety, reduce wastage and reduce costs – and all of this will benefit the consumer," he told delegates.

With nearly 5.3 million people, Bangalore is the third largest city in India. It has the second-highest literacy rate among the country's metropolitan cities, behind Mumbai. It has also become India's technology capital and is home to many software and telecommunication companies.
Spar is an organisation of independent retailers with 13,700 stores in 33 countries.