The Spar in Ostend extends a warm invitation to its festive re-opening
Thursday 6 December will see the re-opening of the Spar store on Langestraat, Ostend. The store was completely renovated and redesigned in line Spar’s latest retail branding. Store managers Eddy Peirsegaele and Katty Verwee and their daughter Sophie will welcome guests at the festive opening night for lights snacks and drinks on Wednesday 5 December, between 6pm and 9pm.
Sunday, December 2, 2018
Massive expansion with emphasis on fresh products
The Spar store is located on Langestraat. “It's not only tourists who visit our store; we also have a loyal customer base of local residents and people who work in the neighbourhood", says store manager Eddy Peirsegaele.
The first difference is that the new store will increase its floorspace, from 650 m2 to 900 m2. “This means we can offer our customers even greater choice and convenience. We will be in line with Spar’s latest retail branding and that means that the fresh food departments are our spearheads. We have invested heavily in our hot bakery; the fruit & vegetables department also has a different set-up and appearance. We have also considerably expanded the range of cheese and charcuterie and developed a solid catering service. Our customers will be pleasantly surprised.”
More than 30 years experience
As part of the renovation, we consciously chose green methods. “The CO2 cooling installation is extremely environmentally friendly and we have also installed a heat recovery system. This way we can use the residual heat from the cooling to heat our store. We have also installed LED lighting everywhere.”
Entrepreneurship is in the DNA of managers Eddy and Katty. “Together we ran a Spar store in Deinze for thirty years. We ended up here because of our desire to grow and expand. The great thing about Retail Partners Colruyt Group (which guides and supports the independent Spar entrepreneurs, ed.) is that you get the freedom to specialise. Fruits and vegetables have always been our focus, and we were given the space to indulge this passion.”
Katty's parents started 55 years ago with the store in Deinze. Eddy comes from a brewing family and that is still a source of inspiration today: “From now on, our store will permanently offer 100 beers from small local breweries. This is something that our foreign customers will appreciate," he says with a smile.
Additional employees
The renovated store has also created additional employment: there will be an additional five employees. Succession planning has long been secured: daughter Sophie has been working in the business for years. “We enjoy dealing with customers and enjoy sharing our love of quality and fresh products with others. With our newly renovated store, we hope we can be of even better service to our customers.”
More information
Ostend Spar: Langestraat 28, 8400 Ostend.
Eddy Peirsegaele and Katty Verwee, independent entrepreneurs: 059 80 44 89.