‘N-E-T-T-O, that’s where all the scrubbers go! NETTO!’ Remember the Netto song, anyone?
For those of you who don’t know, Netto is a (or was!) discount supermarket chain. Basically, everything there was SUPER CHEAP. And if it came out at school that your parents shopped at Netto, you were deemed a Netter shopper picked on for the rest of your life. I have no idea if this was just a Doncaster thing, or if it was across the country, but there was nothing worse at my high school than being dubbed a Netto Shopper. Using a Netto bag was social suicide in high school terms and you would get the Netto song chanted at you for weeks!
Oh wow, that seems so strange now. If you shopped in a supermarket that sold things cheaper than the likes of Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s or Asda, you were deemed a poor scruffy person and quite frankly, you would have the totally utter piss taking out of you.
You know what?
MY PARENTS SHOPPED AT NETTO.
There. I said it.
Not all the time, but my Dad loved their own brand of lemonade and you could get some branded stuff for cheaper than the other supermarkets. They also went to Kwiksave, Sainsbury’s and sometimes Asda to shop around.
Oh, I was such a brat about the Netto thing. At school, it was common to hear people accuse others of being a dirty Netto shopper or to hear Soandso saying they saw Soandso’s Mum with a Netto bag.
I don’t think it helped that their bags were either bright yellow or bright blue, you can spot a Netto bag from a mile off. Everyone at school would rather DIE than be seen holding a Netto bag and have that song chanted at us!
When we went shopping, I used to refuse to go inside Netto and sit in the car. I’d tell my parents how much I hated Netto, hoping they would shop somewhere else for the sake of my reputation. I would say it had a dog for the logo because it’s dog shit dog shit Netto.
They didn’t stop shopping at Netto though. Because they’re clearly really selfish.
Obviously, I never told any of my friends this. I’d laugh along to others joking about Netto shoppers and hope my secret would never be revealed.
The day my life ended.
One day, I had a couple of friends over. My parents had gone out and we were watching TV. For some reason, they were in the kitchen and they both came running in with a bottle of lemonade, laughing and pointing at the little Netto logo on it.
I died. My life was over.
They told EVERYONE.
This was because they weren’t actually my real friends, they were a right pair of dickheads. I found out not long after that they were apparently using me because my parents let me have friends at our house and in my room, but their parents didn’t. But that’s another story. Just a couple of the many people that made me feel really wonderful about myself, just like Sophie. What a set of cowbags.
Anyway, so yes, they told everyone that my parents shopped at Netto and my life was over.
I was so terrified of going to school the next day, apparently the popular kids knew and one came outside my house and shouted NETTO SHOPPER really loud. So loud that they said my Dad looked out of the curtains to see what was going on.
But thankfully nobody said anything to my face. It was all gossip done behind my back. I’m not sure if that’s worse or not.
‘N-E-T-T-O, that’s where all the scrubbers go! NETTO!’
Now, it’s 15 years later and shops like Aldi and Lidl are so popular and I wonder if people in school get picked on nowadays for the same thing.
Kids are really stupid, aren’t they?
Kids at my school would also get laughed at and picked on for numerous other things. Like if they wore unbranded tracksuit bottoms or those two stripped or four striped versions of Adidas poppers and generally if you didn’t own a pair of £120 Rockports.
All these things meant that you weren’t cool.
Was there anything at your school that would get you picked on?
Related posts: Sophie – why did you bully me?
Netto name and shame was rife in our school. If you were caught with anything with a Netto label on you were done for. I remember one girl whose family did the majority of their shopping at Netto, she would peel all the labels off the bottles of pop in her lunch bag and take chocolate bars out of their wrappers, all on the way to school so nobody could see where they’d come from.
I remeber getting picked on for having Sketchers trainers.
Kids really are just awful, it’s one of the reasons I could NEVER be a teacher, I just coulnd’t be surrounded by the arrogant little brats all day!
Sarah 🙂
Kids can be really dumb!! Doesn’t matter where things came from in my opinion as long as you have – so many don’t have anything so why judge on what type of brand it is hahaha kids…
Candice | Beauty Candy Loves
Such a good post – I love the way you talk about things that went on when you were younger, like the Sophie story. I think things like the Netto story still go on. Although like you say, shops like Aldi & Lidl seem really popular now. Loved this post xx
Kids are ignorant at that age they think is all about brand not taking in mind their parent could had done it as well and they won’t admit. All parent looks for ways to safe money and provide. Where I’m from I never seen anyone making fun of the kids who got free lunch I guess they knew better than that. We live in a different world now you have to look for places to shop for food that wont break your bank where you get more for your bucks I doubt the kid in your country acknowledge what market other student parents shop in when price of food keeps increasing.
This wasn’t really a thing at my school, and thank goodness, because my mam used to work in Netto! I’d be bloody doomed haha. Kids are shites though mind, I got picked on once for wearing converse for PE because they were ’emo shoes’…
Sophie x
OMG this was our school too hahahhaha. I refused to go in as well if my mum went in there and its SO WEIRD now hahaha. x
Shame on this kids now I know about Netto
It’s really too bad that kids like to made fun of things that they don’t understand. It’s a shame. I haven’t hear of this store before, but if you can get groceries cheaper than at the next big store, than why not? Thanks for sharing this post and have a great weekend!
I don’t think we had a Netto near us until about 10 years ago so I can’t really comment but I used to kick off at my Mum when she refused to buy me Nike Airs and wouldn’t buy me Adidas jackets so I couldnt be the complete chav I had always dreamed of haha! I was so desperate to fit in and put my parents through right shit for fake friends!
Jess @
We didn’t have a Netto near us but I was definitely the same as a teen! Such a brat! I put my Mum through right hell because she wouldn’t buy me Nike Airs and 3 striped hoodies! And all for the approval of fake friends.
Jess @
I enjoyed reading this post so much. I didn’t know Netto existed, but I remember my mum used to go to these sort of flea markets which sold very cheap clothes and stuff. They were new, but brand-less. I remember I was very embarrassed by saying I never wore clothes with brands and it’s so funny because now everyone wears whatever and buys fake things and nobody gets picked on…!
Cristina xo //
Kids ARE stupid. I’ve lived with my grandparents all my life, but when my mom passed away she asked my father to put me in a private school and he did. Most kids were rich and had everything they wanted. Me? Not so much. While I’m okay with that now, being made fun of for that when I was younger really bothered me. I was basically made fun for everything I didn’t have or couldn’t afford. So I get where you’re coming from. It makes me sad that nowadays things still are like this. Kids are so mean and disrespectful. It’s so dumb. But more than anything it’s heart breaking to know other kids are going through the same things.
Ella x
Everyone at my school in Barnsley got picked on for tahat too, we had a different song but I don’t remember it. Seems so stupid now but at the time it was a big deal!
But… Netto is great!!! I’ve actually only ever seen one Netto in my lifetime – one in my home town (that only opened a few months ago). We have about 201029 supermarkets in my tiny town lol.
I got picked on because I believed in the tooth fairy/santa when I was 12… lol.
E x
When kids do that, they usually pick such negative mentality from parents or at least that’s what I’ve experienced. I used to earn good money back in Malaysia and I shop at discount store! If I get the opportunity to save my money then why the hell not? It’s called smart shopping!
Shireen | Reflection of Sanity
Definitely not just a Doncaster thing this happened at my school too. So odd isn’t it! Luckily there wasn’t a netto near where I lived but even if you didn’t shop at netto kids would make up that you did and use it as an insult anyway. So weird!
Amy xx Call Me Amy
Oh god, I remember this well!
We had a Netto literally across the road from my house – so obvisouly, yes, we shopped there. To be fair, they did their own brand of chocolate that had stawberry cream in it and I still miss it now!
Though for me I guess it was just another thing in the long list of things I did ‘wrong’, so it barely made a dint!
I grew up fat and poor, so yeah, a lot of stuff got me picked on. We didn’t have discount stores, so shopping at one grocery store or another wasn’t a big deal, but clothes, shoes, even school supplies, had to be name brand. It got to a point, though, where I had enough and told enough people to shut the hell up that they stopped. The only thing I still got picked on for was being fat. Kids are jerks.
-Kaitlynn
Oh Netto. Yep, anyone who shopped at Netto in my school was a ‘loser’ and just not cool. My parents didn’t really shop there, but they picked up bits every now and then but it was something to be embarrassed about, and that’s just soooo bad to think back on! Kids are awful.
I’ve never even heard of Netto! But I can totally relate to this post. I was from a poor family, but went to a private, all-girls school. All their parents shopped in Waitrose and Marks and Spencers, we shopped in Safeway and other cheap as chips supermarkets. They wore designer names. I wore Primark. I was forever being looked down on because my parents could barely make tuition, let alone buy me all the things I needed to be seen as cool. So I wasn’t cool. And past me hated that. I wanted to fit in, I wanted them to think I was cool too. Now me thinks “why did I care?” Kids are cruel, I expect kids are the same today; whether it’s about kids shopping at aldi/lidl or something else. xx
Kids are literally the worst. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with their parents to teach them such things!?
Netto is one of the biggest (and most popular) chains to shop in here in Denmark so there’s nothing wrong with “being caught” there. But work in Netto? A big no-no unless you’re in high school and/or don’t care about your future. Stigma is so stupid. Seriously.
Tess x
That type of snobbery really, really pees me off. Teenagers are nasty- that’s why I could not be a secondary teacher, I really dislike teenagers (except for nice, shy and geeky ones) , they’re just nasty. Luckily, there is a new Lidl opposite my school and all our kids love going there so hopefully, by the time they leave for secondary school, they won’t have developed any snobbery!
Your ‘friends’ were cows!x
I agree kids are stupid!! It was same where I lived, I would be so embarrassed by it! I remember that rhyme about Netto too oh my gosh!! This brought memories back haha! X
Becky Shannon xx – Life-by-Becky
Hahahaha, you have just brought back so many memories for me I’m from Livepool so I think its an allover thing. Great post!