Most of the stuff they're doing seems to be entirely commonplace for the supermarket chains we have here in Norway.
The coins for the carts.
Stacking crates instead of individual items.
Training every employee for everything (it's not uncommon to see a store manager operating the cash register).
Expecting customers to fill their own bags and charging for those bags.
Smaller selection.
The only unique part seems to be the tendency to promote the shop's own brand over name brands.
On a related note: Lidl tried and failed to get a foothold here in Norway with similar tactics. It didn't work. Perhaps because our mainstream store chains are already so similar to Lidl, except our domestic chains offer actual name brand products and the Lidl stores didn't, and I think that's why they failed. Also, people who are really desperate to save money can just go to Sweden to shop. It's not a very long drive.
The coins for the carts.
Stacking crates instead of individual items.
Training every employee for everything (it's not uncommon to see a store manager operating the cash register).
Expecting customers to fill their own bags and charging for those bags.
Smaller selection.
The only unique part seems to be the tendency to promote the shop's own brand over name brands.
On a related note: Lidl tried and failed to get a foothold here in Norway with similar tactics. It didn't work. Perhaps because our mainstream store chains are already so similar to Lidl, except our domestic chains offer actual name brand products and the Lidl stores didn't, and I think that's why they failed. Also, people who are really desperate to save money can just go to Sweden to shop. It's not a very long drive.