Spar (retailer) throughout Asia, Africa and Oceania. In fiscal year 2017, SPAR achieved €34.5 billion ($40.1 billion) in global sales, which represented a 5.3 percent increase over 2016. The SPAR motto is "under the tree" The name was originally DE SPAR, an acronym of the Dutch phrase (). The acronym was chosen in order to resonate with the verb "sparen", which (related to English "spare") means "save [money]" in Dutch and some other languages, among them German and Scandinavian languages (with variants such as "spara" or "spare"). The acronym ended up meaning "the fir", after which the logo was chosen. As the
The Fir-Tree The Fir-Tree "The Fir-Tree" (Danish: "Grantræet") is a literary fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). The tale is about a fir tree so anxious to grow up, so anxious for greater things, that he cannot appreciate living in the moment. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 with "The Snow Queen", in Copenhagen, Denmark, by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar (Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager) indicates that "The Fir-Tree" was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism. In the woods stands a little fir-tree. He is preoccupied with growing up and