Retail Insight Network

Daily Newsletter

09 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

SPAR Qatar unveils new supermarket in Doha

The 385m² store offers groceries and a selection of produce in the fruit and vegetable department.

Food retail chain SPAR Qatar has expanded its portfolio by opening a new premium supermarket in the suburb of Bin Mahmood in Doha Al Jazeera.

Prior to its opening, the new store underwent a renovation programme to offer an improved customer shopping experience.

The new supermarket has a 385m² sales area and offers groceries and a selection of fruits and vegetables.

It also features a butchery area with an adjacent deli counter, a fish section and a dedicated ethnic food counter.

Al Wataniya, SPAR’s licence company for Qatar, opened its first SPAR store in the country in November 2017.

Since then, the company has been investing in the brand's continued growth.

Investments were directed towards opening new modern stores and building the teams’ retail skills to provide quality and superior customer service.

It also focused on leveraging the vast SPAR network to acquire ‘best practices’ and adjust the concepts to meet the local communities’ requirements.

SPAR Qatar currently operates a network of six INTERSPAR Hypermarkets and plans to continue growing its retail presence in the country.

Last month, SPAR Qatar opened a new SPAR store at Al Mana Twin Towers, a business and residential hub in Doha.

The 685m² store features fresh produce, fruit and vegetables and a bakery. It also counters for fish and seafood, delicatessen, cheese, meat and food-to-go.

APAC duty-free market expected to grow fastest, fueled by rising income levels and international travelers

Per latest GlobalData estimates, the global duty-free market retailing market was valued at $49 billion in 2022, its highest level ever as it bounced back from the pandemic impact, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 28% during the period 2020-2026, driven by government initiatives, rising passenger numbers, major global events (for instance global sporting tournaments) and the renewed popularity of cruise trips. Infrastructure investments will also play an important role, particularly airport expansion and space refurbishment, and investments in arrivals duty-free formats. That said, growth will be held in check in the years ahead by the permanent erosion of disposable income from the heightened cost of living impacting demand for air travel. The duty-free market in the APAC region showed strong growth in 2022, as traveler numbers surged in response to the lifting of travel restrictions. To cater for rising demand in the region, many airports in the APAC area are expanding and modernizing, giving duty-free stores greater space that will allow them to attract more customers. The future of APAC duty-free retail is also being shaped by the adoption of technology. The rise in online shopping, mobile payments, and digital marketing are giving businesses new ways to connect with customers and improve the shopping experience.