Asda’s converted stores to keep Netto’s ‘best bits’

Asda, which picked up the keys to the 147-store Netto empire on Wednesday, will open its first three converted stores in Worksop, Wakefield and Stainforth on May 10. The rest of the stores are expected to be converted by the end of the year.

Asda operations director for supermarkets Karen Hubbard said: “We’ve been testing the format for 12 months and small parts have been tweaked to make sure some of the best bits of Netto are kept.”

She cited examples as being Netto’s non-food presentation and promotions.

She said: “We’ve learnt a lot from the Netto managers.”

She also said that while the OFT was investigating Asda’s £778m acquisition of Netto her team had been working on setting up a new supply chain operating model to sit within its existing infrastructure.

“Our supply chain is set up for big stores and big volumes so there’s been a lot of learning to do for our smaller stores,” she said.