Netto Stores, Iceland

Since M Worldwide was founded in 2001 as a brand experience and experiential design company, working with leading brands and retailers around the world, food and grocery retail has been one of our foundation sectors.

It is a sector that demands a particular set of traits not always found elsewhere. With thin margins and fierce competition, innovation and differentiation are essential to creating competitive advantage.

Our work with Netto Iceland has drawn on our deep sector experience to develop a new strategy for the brand and customer experience, integrating solid principles of retail interior design, supermarket planning and experiential design.

Established in 1989 and now with the largest store network in Iceland, Netto’s proposition, experience and environment had lost clarity and momentum. Using our unique diagnostic process, we developed a refreshed brand identity, store format principles, and a clear set of experiential and environmental design principles.

The rebrand across the store estate has begun, alongside the process of upgrading the store experience and environment.

The first major pilot was in Mjódd, a suburb of Reykjavik, where a significant refit has taken place, integrating retail, experiential and brand design thinking.

The core store format draws on a comprehensive kit of parts, ensuring local demographics and nuances are properly catered for. This includes a number of shop-in-shop branded areas from other brands owned by the group behind Netto.

Over the last 30 years or so, discount grocery retail in Iceland has become firmly established. With the constant drive for low prices and minimal operating costs, the shopper experience can often feel basic and compromised.

Our latest concept for Netto brings together innovative thinking around shopper journeys, zoning, fixturing and merchandising, supported by a feel-good environment that gives shoppers time to think, explore and enjoy the experience.

In essence, it is a store experience that gives shoppers more “Ahhhh!” than “Arrghhhh!”