Big duel of the big distributors
Record sales at Migros – unlike at Coop
Migros reports a new record turnover in 2022. The figures from competitor Coop are also impressive. Who is really ahead? View has the overview.
Published: 33 minutes ago
1/5
Migros is cementing its position as number one in Swiss retail.
Patrick Bergerreporter economy
It’s the eternal duel between the giants of the Swiss retail trade: Coop versus Migros. In Switzerland, every child knows that where there is a supermarket with the big M, the next Coop store is not far away. The two don’t give each other anything. Now the two most important retailers are announcing the first figures for 2022. Who is ahead?
Migros reports sales of CHF 30 billion. This is the highest in the company’s history. 3.9 percent more than in the previous year. The main contributors to this improvement were those areas that had suffered particularly badly from the pandemic – the travel and leisure business and gastronomy. Tour operator Hotelplan has more than doubled its sales to CHF 1.44 billion. Gastronomy grew by 47 percent to CHF 577 million.
Less sales in stores
Migrol’s business also ran like clockwork, with sales increasing by 24 percent to CHF 1.8 billion thanks to the rise in oil prices. However, the Migros shops made less sales. The ten regional cooperatives had to accept a decline of two percent to 15.9 billion Swiss francs.
According to a media release, the decline was to be expected after the lifting of the Covid measures. During the pandemic, there was a high demand for food and household goods because people were increasingly cooking at home. The shopping cart per purchase has now shrunk. And yet: “All in all, we have succeeded in consolidating our position as number one in Swiss retail,” says Migros boss Fabrice Zumbrunnen (53) happily.
Coop losses in stores
Competitor Coop reported a sales increase of 7.3 percent to CHF 34.2 billion two weeks ago. In the supermarkets, however, Coop also had to accept a loss. At 11.6 billion Swiss francs, supermarket sales are down on previous years. That’s not enough for a new record after the Corona years 2020 and 2021.
Coop has increased nevertheless. Especially in wholesale – for example with Transgourmet, which includes the Prodega cash & carry stores – and in production (+15%).
Both Coop and Migros are only partially optimistic about the current year. “We notice that the wallet is no longer quite so loose,” says Migros. So it’s not surprising that the two big companies are currently expanding their low-cost lines.
Migros and Coop will only announce the winning numbers in a few weeks.