Exclusive Nicola Gordon-Seymour A new format for large stores is about to be unveiled in the UK by symbol group Spar. Dubbed EuroSpar, the format is intended for stores in which family shoppers can do a full weekly shop. And the country's first EuroSpar will be opened next week in Warrenpoint, Belfast, by John Henderson, Spar UK's wholesaler for Northern Ireland. The opening is another first for Hendersons, which trialled one of Spar UK's pilot city format stores in 1998. EuroSpar was launched in 1997 by International Spar, the central body for the group's global operations. Since then it has been introduced to Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, Belgium and Poland as part of a plan to roll it out to all member countries by 2003. The format is designed for stores with a sales area of between 10,000 sq ft and 25,000 sq ft. "This size allows for a full range of food products and services required by consumers together with a limited range of non food products," says International Spar. Other Spar UK wholesalers are believed to be interested in adopting the new format. Its arrival in the UK may spell the end of the SuperSpar supermarket format developed by Spar's Scottish wholesaler CJ Lang. SuperSpar first appeared in 1998 and was developed for retailers wanting larger sized stores. Ten stores are trading under the name. CJ Lang's marketing controller Mike Howie said: "We developed the SuperSpar format because the EuroSpar format was not available to us, but when EuroSpar is launched in the UK, and if it fits the profile of SuperSpar, we would hope to take advantage of it." Nevertheless, SuperSpar is undergoing a redesign with new imagery due to be launched in March. And CJ Lang has announced a new scheme to reduce the price of 300 branded products in its SuperSpar stores. {{NEWS }}

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