Sainsbury’s ditches Netto as standing up to Aldi and Lidl proves too big a job
Sainsbury’s has confirmed that 16 Netto stores across the UK will close after it ended a joint venture deal with Danish retailer Dansk Supermarket Group.
Netto are set to close after opening in 2014
Sainsbury's first tied with Netto in 2014 with a view to relaunching the chain as a competitor to Lidl and Aldi, whose hold on the market was beginning to be felt by the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets.
However, the grocer's boss Mike Coupe said today that the investment and scale needed to take on the discounters was simply too great.
"To be successful over the long-term, Netto would need to grow at pace and scale, requiring significant investment and the rapid expansion of the store estate in a challenging property market,” said Coupe.
"Consequently, we have made the difficult decision not to pursue the opportunity further and instead focus on our core business and on the opportunities we will have following our proposed acquisition of Home Retail Group.”
Some 400 jobs are thought to be at risk.