Iceland Foods has launched a new ‘store within a store’ format into Icelandic retailer Nettó.
The new format opened at Nettó’s store in Mjódd earlier this month, in what is the first of a new concession rollout with the retailer as part of the Deeside supermarket’s joint venture with Nordic investment vehicle SKEL.
Nettó, which is one of the country’s largest supermarket chains, already stocked a range of Iceland products, however this is the first time they will be presented in a dedicated branded concession.
Similar to Iceland’s other stores within stores at the likes of The Range in the UK and Dunnes in Ireland, the concession stocks an expanded range of Iceland’s frozen lines.
It includes some of its exclusive licenced brands including TGI Fridays, MyProtein and Slimming World.
“We are excited to be able to offer our popular ranges in Nettó stores for Icelandic customers,” said Iceland CEO Tarsem Dhaliwal, who opened the new concession in person on 3 February.
“The innovation, quality and value of these products has proved incredibly successful in the UK, and we are pleased to bring these ranges to a new group of Nettó customers.”
It’s the latest expansion of Iceland’s network of global concessions and supply partnerships following the relaunch and refresh of its Iceland International business.
The Nordics are an area of growing focus following Iceland’s strategic partnership with SKEL in December 2024, which saw the creation of a new joint venture, ICE JV EHF, which acts as a wholesaler for Iceland’s products into the region.
SKEL is chaired by Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson, who has worked with Iceland founder Malcolm Walker for over 20 years, and previously led Baugur’s acquisition of Iceland’s holding company the Big Food Group in 2005.
“We were pleased to welcome Tarsem to Iceland for this occasion and to formally open the new shop-within-a-shop concept at Nettó,” said Auður Daníelsdóttir, CEO of Drangar, SKEL’s retail group.
“This collaboration enables us to offer our customers high-quality, innovative frozen food that delivers both convenience and great value. Nettó stores have been undergoing significant transformation in recent months, and this launch forms an important part of that process.”
It comes against the backdrop of Iceland’s long-running dispute with the Icelandic government over the supermarket’s attempts to trademark the use of the word Iceland in the EU.
In July the General Court of the European Union denied an appeal, lodged by the retailer in October 2024, against the decision of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in December 2022 that upheld a previous ruling to strip the supermarket of its EU trademark protection for the word ‘Iceland’.
The ruling does not affect Iceland’s ability to sell into the bloc, but it stymies its efforts to prevent other organisations from using the phrase ‘Iceland’ to market products sold in the EU.
The retailer has one last route of appeal via the the Court of Justice of the European Union.
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