EY Family Business award winners 2019-20 - Austria

Understanding consumer needs has led SPAR from strength to strength.

We are delighted to celebrate the recipients of the EY Family Business Award of Excellence 2019-20, an honor that recognizes excellence in family businesses. Congratulations to this year’s winners for Austria:

Rudolf Staudinger - Director of the Board, International subsidiaries, SPAR
Fritz Poppmeier - Director of the Board, Expansion and Retail, SPAR
Gerhard Drexel - CEO, SPAR
Hans K. Reisch - Director of the Board, Finance and Branches, SPAR

The rapidly growing SPAR family company has recently celebrated its 65th anniversary and cemented its position as a major Central European retailer. Now in the hands of the third generation, the business has been increasing its footprint across Europe with 1,557 branches and 59 restaurants, an incredible transformation from its beginnings as a single Austrian grocer.

The leadership is committed to a forward-thinking, modern approach to running customer-friendly stores, and they have shown a willingness to adapt to local consumer demands. It is a strategy that has seen the company as market leader in the Austrian food retail sector and continually increase its market share, both for 10 consecutive years: “We were able to increase last year’s market share to the historic high of 32.8 percent,” said SPAR CEO, Dr. Gerhard Drexel.

The team has also built on its extensive range of its own SPAR brands, ensuring that the company provides healthy, nutritious products and limits the use of plastic.