Spar head office responds to the debacle

Spar said one cannot access a site once it is under the control of a liquidator.

The KWIKSPAR and TOPS Malanshof site will be revamped and reopened.

The KwikSpar and Tops Malanshof site, north of Johannesburg, which was recently cleaned up after being closed for nearly a year has The Spar Group Limited South Africa responding to the concerns brought forth, Randburg Sun reports.

According to Spar’s divisional retail operations executive for South Rand Marlene Urquhart: “The businesses were experiencing financial problems for various reasons and, ultimately, both applied for liquidation in the first half of 2016.”

The store steamed with live and dead rats and filled to the brim in flies. The produce was left to rot inside the Spar.

The site was then placed under control of the appointed liquidators. Urquhart explained that while the liquidation process was in progress, the liquidator was approached on a few occasions by Spar’s senior retail operations manager and attorneys to advise of customer complaints being received around the state of the store and the pestilence around the site.

Vanessa Buckley-Louwrens, who lives above the Spar, experienced dreadful smells for months after its closing.

“I now have an infestation of cockroaches and flies that have made living in my home nearly unbearable,” she said.

The store was teeming with live and dead rats and covered in flies. The produce was left to rot inside the Spar.

“We forwarded correspondence on several occasions to the liquidator, including notices from the City of Johannesburg health department,” said Urquhart.

A statutory notice was issued by City of Johannesburg environmental health directorate to the liquidators on January 27 to clean and clear the store within the required time frame for compliance.

Spar continuously pushed for the stores to be attended to.

Over the months following the liquidation, Spar had engaged with the landlord, Stellios Ioannou, to secure the site and reestablish the stores.

This was stalled, according to Urquhart, when a prospective buyer for the building was pursued by the landlord, the deal was not completed.

As such the group reengaged with Ioannou and has finally reached an agreement to lease and commence with the process of reclaiming the sites.

“We regret the inconvenience caused through the prior months and commit to getting the new stores up and running as soon as possible. [We] look forward to presenting our valuable customers with a new KwikSpar and Tops offering that is better than ever,” concluded Urquhart.