Spar International

Michael Møller lives with his wife and their two young sons in Vindinge. This is also the town where he runs his SPAR supermarket, renowned for its friendly atmosphere.

His pleasant attitude, involvement with local residents and the  obvious pleasure with which he provides service to his customers, all contribute to the exceptional customer-friendliness. The question of who would not want to work or do their shopping here arises. Clearly, in this store the customer is king.

In this interview, Michael helps us gain a better understanding of this successful SPAR supermarket.

How did you become a SPAR retailer?
From a very young age, it was apparent that I was driven. At the age of seven I was already working as a 'gardener' for the local primary school. When I was in senior school, I worked after school hours as a stock manager in a nearby supermarket. I was asked to stay as an apprentice and

With the knowledge that I had gained, I purchased a small 150m² supermarket in the town of Løve, not far from here. I was able to double the store's turnover within one year. After 5½ years, I left Løve to begin a SPAR supermarket in the town in which I was born. I am pleased to announce that at the beginning of next year, the supermarket will be expanded from 300m² to 600m². The whole store will benefit from this expansion, in particular the service departments of fresh produce, butchery, delicatessen and wine.

Please describe the location of your supermarket
Vindinge is situated approximately six kilometers from the city of Roskilde which has around 800,000 inhabitants. There are of course many supermarkets in the city. Here in Vindinge though, we are the only supermarket, serving almost 2,000 residents. Many

people commute from Vindinge, leaving early in the morning and returning late in the evening.

We are well known in the area for local sourcing of a wide range of fresh produce including apples, strawberries, potatoes and honey. A new initiative in Vindinge has been the production of wine, which is also now sold in our SPAR store.

How do you keep an involvement with your customers?
Because we are situated in a small town where everyone knows each other, I try to always be hospitable and have a pleasant attitude. It is important to be in a good mood as socializing with customers makes them feel welcome. It is essential to offer good quality fresh products such as fruit and vegetables.

This applies equally to flowers and garden plants, which we sell all year round and are an attraction for customers. We also have a bake-off section, run a post office and sell lottery tickets, all with the aim of being convenient for our shoppers.

Every year a wine tasting event is held for approximately 130 people. We serve a light snack giving us an opportunity to promote one of our bake-off products, for example.

The representatives of various wine suppliers are invited to come and share their knowledge. During this event, around 1,200 bottles of wine are sold within a few hours. In this way, our customers can feel they are influencing our wine range.

The event is held in the same period that the newest Danish Christmas beers from Carlsberg and Tuborg are launched. Our customers don't leave the supermarket without the newest national beer.