The first Spar Gourmet store in Zimbali. Picture: Supplied Spar’s 2025 results landed with a weighty thud, immediately reverberating through investor sentiment. Now the retailer is trying to make up for losses during the period by launching gourmet stores across South Africa.
Spar, one of the country’s largest retailers, lost more than R5 billion during the 52 weeks ended in September and reported another year without dividends. However, it viewed this year as one of cleaning up and repositioning itself, as it exited markets that did not benefit it any more. Thefinancial results for the period showed that Spar closed downits long-running difficulties in Europe.
The first exit was in Poland, followed by Switzerland after years of underperformance. Together, these discontinued operations resulted in losses of R5.6 billion. Spar’s operations in the UK, Appleby Westward Group, remain up for sale.
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“The UK business continues to be classified as held for sale at 26 September 2025, as the group remains committed to a plan to sell this operation and an active process to locate a buyer is ongoing,” the results presentation says. After anotheryear of difficulty and closure of underperforming stores, Spar has entered the high-end market back at home to make up for the loss. The retailer launched its first-ever gourmet store in Zimbali Oasis, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Set within the heart of KZN’s most exclusive leisure destination, the new Gourmet store introduced a sophisticated retail environment shaped by luxury, craftsmanship and elevated convenience.” the retailer said. It is worth noting that the retailer already has gourmet-type offerings in some of its stores in Cape Town like Sea Point and Cape Quarter. But the one in Zimbali will expand the offerings by including artisanal breads, patisserie delights, gourmet meals, premium butchery offering specialised cuts and an elegant wine emporium.
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