Last Tuesday, the world’s largest voluntary chain retailer, SPAR, announced they will be opening their first stores in Mongolia in partnership with Max Group LLC. The partnership, which will see up to 60 SPAR-branded multi-format stores in Mongolia by 2020, was launched at an official signing ceremony which took place during the visit of the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, to Ulaanbaatar. Max Group is one of Mongolia’s leading retailers, operating the existing chain of Max Food Supermarkets. The new partnership will see these stores transfer to the SPAR brand, and the opening of new SPAR supermarkets from 2017 onwards. Netherlands-based SPAR International reported global retail sales in 2015 of 33 billion EUR from over 12,100 stores across four continents. Mongolia brings the number of countries where SPAR has operations globally to 43. Speaking at the ceremony for the signing of the contracts between SPAR and Max Group, Prime Minister Rutte said, “It is greatly encouraging to see a company like SPAR, which started as a partnership of Dutch retailers and wholesalers more than 80 years ago, helping bring retail best practice to the Mongolian marketplace.” SPAR International Managing Director, Tobias Wasmuht said, “SPAR is delighted to be launching in Mongolia in partnership with the Max Group. We see Mongolia as a dynamic and rapidly developing consumer market with a growing demand for modern world class food retail. We are highly confident that we can build on our strong presence in the region by leveraging our scale with the SPAR operations in neighboring Irkutsk, Russia, and Inner Mongolia, China. This collaboration combined with our modern retail formats, supply chain, and international sourcing, as well as investing in the training and development in people locally will act as a significant support structure for the growth and development of SPAR in Mongolia. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, who were instrumental in facilitating the partnership between SPAR and the Max Group.” Max Group LLC has a variety of operations and business interests, including supermarkets, fast food restaurants, department stores, real estate, and precious metal mining, and is the country’s largest dairy producer and milk bottler. Max Group LLC has over 2,000 employees. President of Max Group D.Ganbaatar commented, “Bringing the world’s leading retail chain, SPAR, to Mongolia is not just beneficial to Max Group, it is a big opportunity for Mongolia as well, and I am very excited about this partnership. Max is dedicated to bringing SPAR’s commitment to excellence in freshness, its passion for quality, outstanding service, and exceptional value to consumers in Mongolia.”