SPAR Austria and petrol station operator JET are set to open five SPAR Express shops at forecourt sites across Austria by the end of May.
The supermarket chain said the test is designed to assess whether a broader convenience model can combine fuel station sites with supermarket-style choice and pricing, before any decision is made on a wider expansion.
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Under the pilot, the partners will work together on a new approach to forecourt retailing at five locations.
Each store will stock 1,500 items and operate from an average selling area of 80 square metres.
The Spar Express concept is intended to go beyond the typical forecourt offer in Austria, with an emphasis on fresh food, chilled snacks and an expanded range of drinks, alongside everyday grocery staples.
The range will include both international brands and Spar’s own-label lines.
Spar’s supermarket price guarantee will apply to its own-brand goods, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, bakery items and pastries.
Spar Austria CEO Hans K Reisch said: “At these five pilot locations, Spar Austria and Jet are demonstrating what modern shopping at petrol stations in Austria could look like in the future: fresh, fast, high-quality, and consistently tailored to customers’ needs.”
Elsewhere in the group, Spar Hungary earlier this month said it had invested more than than €13.5m ($15.7m) to modernise six stores nationwide, including an INTERSPAR hypermarket in Veszprém spanning 4,000m².
That site reopened after a €7.26m refurbishment covering equipment upgrades, internal reconfiguration and changes to the building exterior, including the façade and entrance.
In Norway, Spar last month introduced a rapid delivery offer aimed at getting groceries to customers within 20 to 45 minutes.
The Spar QuickCommerce service began in 16 stores and had grown to more than 60 locations by the first quarter of this year, with orders placed at in-store prices for home delivery.
