No comeback at Migros
Shopping bus soon on the road in Germany
The German retail giant is launching the shopping bus with Deutsche Bahn. The “supermarket on wheels” is intended to ensure the supply of rural communities. A concept that in Switzerland tends to stir up feelings of nostalgia rather than confidence in the future.
Published: 5 minutes ago
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Updated: 4 minutes ago
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This is what it looks like, the shopping bus from Rewe and Deutsche Bahn.
Jean Claude RaemyEditor Economics
The Migros cars are at the very beginning of the history of the Swiss retail giant. Since 1925, products have been delivered practically to the front door of consumers throughout Switzerland. In the 1960s, 144 Migros vans were on the road, and the last were discontinued in 2007. Since there were branches almost everywhere, this form of supply was unnecessary.
What is a nice memory for the Swiss today is the future in Germany. The Cologne retail giant Rewe and Deutsche Bahn (DB) are launching the shopping bus in spring 2023. Initially only as part of a pilot project in the north of the state of Hesse.
The purpose is to supply rural areas where there is no significant coverage by grocers. In addition, the shopping bus makes a contribution to climate protection, as fewer people have to drive to the nearest supermarket by car, according to a statement.
First was the shopping train
Just over a year ago, a “Rewe supermarket train” toured Hesse. Only the rail network is subject to strict limits. So now a “supermarket on wheels” takes care of the supply in the area. “This is how the mobility turnaround succeeds,” promises Frank Klingenhöfer (53), CEO of DB Regio AG.
The shopping bus comes at fixed times to several communities in the districts of Kassel, Schwalm-Eder and Waldeck-Frankenberg. With 700 different products, the range corresponds to that of a regular supermarket. The core of the offer, however, are fair trade products and regional goods.
The bus is a diesel bus. Which corresponds to the Euro VI emissions standard. And “to ensure a pleasant shopping with additional air conditioning”.
No comeback at Migros
There are still buses in Switzerland that are used as a bar for a specific purpose. During Corona, for example, there was the vaccination bus. Is there a comeback of the Migros car at Migros? A special marketing campaign five years ago showed that the Migros car is popular. But only for nostalgic reasons.
“The time of the Migros car has expired and there are no plans to put one back into operation,” explains Migros spokesman Tristan Cerf to Blick. The dense branch network and the large product range argue against this. “In addition, online trading has long since replaced the role of the Migros van in supplying outlying regions,” says Cerf. The recently presented Migros figures for online trade for 2022 underline this.
So the Migros car has to stay in the Lucerne Museum of Transport. Which does not mean that the concept is not popular in Germany: in the much larger neighboring country, the density of food outlets is significantly lower than in Switzerland.