Netto moves back to UK after deal with Sainsbury's to take on Lidl and Aldi
DANISH discount supermarket Netto is returning to the UK after a four-year absence in a tie-up with Sainsbury’s.
Britain’s third largest grocer is joining forces with Dansk Supermarked to open 15 new-look Netto stores by the end of 2015, starting with five in the M62 corridor.
If the trial is successful they plan a nationwide chain, competing with Germany’s Lidl and Aldi which have enjoyed dramatic growth over the past decade in a sector tipped to double to £20billion sales a year in five years.
Netto quit the UK in 2010 when it sold its 193 sites to Asda for £778million.
Sainsbury’s chief executive designate Mike Coupe said: “This joint venture provides a great opportunity for us to gain exposure to the high growth discount market for the first time.”
Dansk chief Per Bank said the new stores would have a different format from the old Netto shops and would stock 2,000 products against 1,200 previously. He promised to bring a “Scandinavian twist” to shopping in the UK, with in-store bakeries making Danish pastries and weekly one-off offers on products from homeware to tents.
Each partner will initially invest £12.5million in the venture.
