Netto 4.0 will open its first store in Roskilde next week, marking the next step in Salling Group’s effort to refresh Denmark’s largest discount supermarket chain. The new format is designed to make stores easier to navigate, give more space in the aisles and strengthen Netto’s own-brand offer, as the retailer targets sales growth of between 5 and 10 percent.
The launch follows Netto 3.0, the broader multi-year modernisation programme that gave the chain a new visual identity across Denmark. This time, the company is presenting a more targeted upgrade rather than a full reset. According to reporting by DetailWatch, the first Netto 4.0 store will open in Roskilde, while the concept is expected to be rolled out gradually across the chain.
Netto 4.0 is about layout, visibility and a stronger own-brand offer
The biggest changes in Netto 4.0 are practical rather than cosmetic. The chain says the aim is to improve the shopping experience and make stores feel less cluttered. That includes freeing up space in the aisles, improving signage and moving spot goods and promotional products away from the cages and temporary displays that have long been associated with discount retail.
Sector reporting on the project says the new concept also creates room for around 200 new products and puts greater emphasis on private-label goods, which are increasingly important in European food retail as chains try to protect margins while keeping prices competitive. In parallel, Netto is consolidating several own brands under a new Netto label, a move that could make the range easier for customers to recognise.
For Salling Group, the strategy reflects a broader shift in discount retail. Low prices still matter, but chains are also competing on convenience, store clarity and customer loyalty. In that sense, Netto 4.0 is less about reinventing the format than about making discount shopping feel more orderly and more consistent.
Why about 100 Copenhagen stores are being left out for now
The new concept will not be introduced everywhere at the same pace. Around 100 smaller stores, especially in Copenhagen, are currently too small to accommodate the full Netto 4.0 layout.
That detail highlights one of the limits of the strategy. Netto has scale, with 578 stores in Denmark, according to Salling Group, but part of that network consists of compact urban outlets where wider aisles and new product placement are harder to implement. In practice, the group appears to be prioritising locations where the redesign can be rolled out without reducing selling space too sharply.
This also says something about the structure of Danish grocery retail. Large suburban and provincial stores often allow for more experimentation, while inner-city locations, especially in Copenhagen, operate under tighter spatial constraints. Roskilde is therefore a logical place to test a format that depends on a more spacious and legible layout.
Netto wants higher customer satisfaction, not only better sales
The ambition behind Netto 4.0 is not limited to turnover. Chain director Braw Bakir has said the company wants to move into the top three supermarket chains in customer satisfaction in Denmark, a notable target for a brand that was once associated with weaker consumer ratings.
That matters because Denmark’s grocery market is both mature and highly competitive. Discount chains remain central to everyday shopping, but customers now expect more than low prices alone. A cleaner store logic, clearer branding and a less chaotic promotional area can all influence how a chain is perceived, especially when inflation and repeated price wars have made shoppers more attentive to value.
According to sector reporting, the rollout is backed by a 400 million kroner investment (about €53.6 million). That makes the project significant, but still more limited than the previous transformation under Netto 3.0. The company is therefore trying to update the chain without repeating the cost and disruption of a full-scale overhaul.
