As of January 2016, Spar has opened 45 of its Express shops at OMV filling stations across Hungary, the Dutch retailer said in a press release.
Exempt from recent legislation banning Sunday shopping in Hungary, these outlets offer round-the-clock shopping and carry basic household items and Spar private label products.
Spar opened its first shop with OMV in 2013 in Budapest, and in the second half of 2015, ten such units were added to the network.
Márk Maczelka, Spar Hungary’s head of communications told ESM in January of last year that its only other store that would be allowed to remain open on Sundays after 15 March 2015 was the one located at the Budapest Airport.
He added that more than 80 per cent of Spar's store managers did not support the Sunday shopping ban, as they feared a significant cut in turnover and profitability.
Present in Hungary for 23 years, Spar is Hungary’s fifth largest employer with 13,000 employees.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by László Juhász. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
