SPAR

''This article is about the convenience store. For the type of wood, see Spar.'' SPAR is an international retail franchise comprising over 17,500 convenience stores in 34 operating regions. It was founded in Holland in 1932, and operated on a principal similar to co-operative stores elsewhere - retailers would group together to get bulk discounts from suppliers/wholesalers. In 1953 an International SPAR office was opened in Amsterdam to control and further develop this unique organisation throughout Europe and other continents. Stores are more prevalent in Europe, but a few countries outside of Europe, such as South Africa, Australia, Mauritius and Argentina also have SPAR stores. The name, which was originally DE SPAR, is an acronym of the initial letters of a Dutch (language) phrase meaning "All will benefit from united co-operation". De spar in Dutch translates into English as fir tree, and hence a fir tree is the logo of SPAR. As the organisation expanded across Europe, the name was later abbreviated by dropping "DE", but the underlying meaning remains. A store may be independently owned, a frachisee or a chain store depending on the model being applied in any given country. The owners of the parent company vary from country to country and may include the store owners themselves. The only common ''glue'' between the stores in different countries is the branding - the name and the current logo, which was designed in 1968, has been unchanged since. ==External links== *[http://www.spar-international.com SPAR International] ===Data=== *[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/91/91269.html Yahoo! - SPAR Handels-Aktiengesellschaft Company Profile] (2,500+1,175+200 stores) *[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/135/135684.html Yahoo! - SPAR (UK) Limited Company Profile] (2,600 stores) Convenience stores

SPAR

Removed as "BS": :The group apparently came about in an attempt to protect small local grocers from potentially damaging competition from supermarkets. The name is allegedly an acronym for "Society for the Protection of the Average Retailer", by analogy with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. It may be BS, but that's exactly the way I read it once. User:Lee M 16:37, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC) They're Dutch, not English. And they pre-date supermarkets. So its beyond BS, its patent BS. User:Kiand 17:49, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC) :Fine, can I claim money on the patent? :-/ User:Lee M 19:52, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC) Its accurate now. Well, the history is, got some even newer stats from the parent company website.

Spar

: ''For the convenience store, see SPAR.'' ==Sailing ships== A spar is a round timber or metal pole used on a sailing ship. Mast (sailing)s, booms, gaffs, or yardarm are all examples of spars. Wooden ships from the age of sail often carried many extra spars of all types for repairs while at sea. The spar deck of a frigate was called such as it was used to carry spare spars. Spars of all types are used in the rigging of sailing ships to resist compressive stress and bending forces, and to provide support for the sails. ==Aircraft== In an aircraft, the spar is the main structural member of the wing, running lengthways across the span of the wing, at right angles (or thereabouts) to the fuselage. The spar carries all of the forces of both lift (force), and the weight of the wings on the ground. Other structural and forming members such as ribs may be attached to the spar or spars. There may be more than one spar in a wing, though in general one carries the majority of the forces on it, and is called the main spar. ==Mineralogy== Spar is a term employed to include a great number of crystallized, earthy, and some metallic substances, which easily break into rhomboidal, cubical, or laminated fragments with polished surfaces, but without regard to the ingredients of which they are composed. Among miners the term is frequently used alone to express any bright crystalline substance.

See other meanings of words starting from letter:

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