Danish retailer NORMAL is using its rapid Italian rollout as a springboard for broader European growth, doubling its Italy store count in December 2025 while scaling a network of more than 900 locations across nine countries.
NORMAL’s Italian store strategy
Between 10 and 18 December 2025, NORMAL is opening four new stores in Italy, taking its footprint from four to eight locations in just eight days. The chain already operates two stores in the Rome area and two in the Milan area, with the new openings strengthening its reach in northern and central Italy.
New stores are scheduled for Savignano, Udine, and Guidonia, plus an additional site in Milan, deepening the brand’s presence in key regional hubs. This cluster strategy helps NORMAL build brand recognition quickly while optimizing logistics and marketing spend around major Italian cities.
What the country manager says
Country Manager Jesper Brask Laumann said, “We’re thrilled to bring NORMAL’s unique and surprising shopping experience to new locations in Italy.” He also said that “Our stores in Milan and Rome have enjoyed strong traffic and sales, reinforcing our confidence in continued growth across Italy. We’re certain that the wide assortment of extraordinary products in the new stores will be warmly embraced. NORMAL loves Italy – and it’s clear that Italians are loving NORMAL too!”
These comments point to strong early performance in Italy, supporting a more aggressive rollout than a typical test‑and‑learn entry. For landlords, a value‑driven chain with proven footfall in Rome and Milan is a compelling addition to malls and retail parks looking to diversify their tenant mix.
Concept, assortment, and store experience
NORMAL describes its concept as selling “normal products at abnormal prices,” with fixed low pricing instead of temporary promotions, seasonal sales, or coupons. The assortment spans more than 4,000 items across body, hair, and skincare, oral care, personal hygiene, makeup, cosmetics, perfumes, deodorants, and household cleaning categories.
Beyond beauty and home, shoppers can find non‑alcoholic drinks, sweet and savory snacks, coffee, spices, protein bars and shakes, kitchenware, stationery, school supplies, and pet food and accessories, effectively blending drugstore, mini‑market, and variety store missions. The distinctive maze‑like store layout is designed to turn each visit into a “treasure hunt,” encouraging shoppers to explore and discover extra items beyond their planned basket.
Newness and brands that pull traffic
A key part of the model is constant newness, with more than 100 new products arriving every week, ensuring that regular customers have something different to discover on each trip. This level of rotation is unusually high for a value retailer and helps support repeat visits even in relatively small catchment areas.
Alongside household names such as L’Oréal, Colgate, Gillette, Max Factor, Nescafé, and Kinder, NORMAL also carries exclusive products that are not sold through other European retailers. The combination of global brands and “only here” finds strengthens the chain’s value proposition in Italy, where consumers are trading down on price but remain loyal to branded products.
NORMAL’s wider European growth
Founded in Silkeborg in Denmark, in 2013, NORMAL has expanded from a domestic concept into a European non‑food discount chain with more than 900 stores across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Recent investments include a new distribution center in Spain to support growth in southern Europe, including Portugal and southern France.
The chain generated around €1.6 billion in turnover in the latest reported year, underlining the scale it has reached in just over a decade. Majority shareholder Anders Holch Povlsen – also a key investor in European fashion and retail – provides financial backing and sector expertise as NORMAL targets further expansion, with Ireland highlighted as a future market.
