As an English girl who grew up with a
Spar as her corner shop I find it very funny that Spars are rife here
in Switzerland. How could a store that seemed to English and so
cheap, be so prevalent in highly efficient, affluent Switzerland 35
years later? So I delved into the history of Spar to find out the
truth.
And I was amazed to find out that Spar
was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan van Well.
It is an international retail chain and franchise with approximately
12,500 stores in 35 countries worldwide. It's headquarters are in
Amsterdam.
The name was originally DE SPAR, an
acronym of the Dutch phrase Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren
Allen Regelmatig (an English translation would be - through united
co-operation everyone regularly profits). De Spar is Dutch for 'The
spruce', hence Spar's slightly Christmassy logo. As the organisation
expanded across Europe, the name was abbreviated by dropping 'DE'.
The word Spar means 'to save (money)'
in some Germanic and Scandinavian languages. So somehow, Spar has
managed to keep its prices down and serves local communities effectively, as
it did in my Birmingham backwater environment in the 1970s. Funny how
some things never change, where-ever you go.
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