Again and again successful power struggles
That’s why the Swiss retail trade wins against Coca Cola and Co.
The retailer Coop has won the price war against the global corporation Coca-Cola. Migros is also currently arguing with the Aromat manufacturer about the price of the sprinkled spice. Why the Swiss retail trade often emerges successfully from such power struggles.
Published: 12 minutes ago
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Coop has won the power struggle against the global corporation Coca-Cola.
Martin SchmidtEditor Economics
For four years, Coca-Cola sold the dark soft drink in Switzerland in 0.45 liter bottles instead of 0.5 liter bottles. This caused a great deal of anger among customers. Because the price for a bottle remained the same at CHF 1.35.
But resistance to the shrunken cola bottles also formed in the retail trade. Coca-Cola introduced the new bottles in 2019. Coop then started parallel imports from Eastern Europe in 2021 and continued to offer half-liter bottles in the branches – which were available alongside the small bottles made in Switzerland, as the “NZZ” writes.
David versus Goliath?
A global corporation versus a Swiss retailer. A duel between David and Goliath – one would think so. However, a look at the numbers shows a different picture: According to the latest figures from 2021, Coca-Cola had a turnover of 38 billion dollars. Coop increased its sales to over 34 billion francs last year. Together with Migros and the Migros subsidiary Denner, the retailer covers 80 percent of the Swiss market.
This market power paid off. In April 2022, Coca-Cola went back and reversed bottle shrinkage, Blick reported. The beverage manufacturer justified the step as follows: “The beverage market in Switzerland is developing continuously.” For this reason, regular surveys are carried out among consumers. Based on the findings of these studies and discussions with trading partners, the packaging formats are constantly checked.
Marketing language in its purest form. The hidden price increase with the miniature bottles had failed. Since then, the Swiss retail trade has again been offering cola bottles in the well-known size across the board.
Power struggle between Migros and Knorr
Again and again, Swiss retailers successfully defend themselves against price increases of well-known brands. Migros is currently in a price war with the manufacturer of the spice mixture Aromat, which is so popular in Switzerland. The orange giant has therefore temporarily removed the sprinkled spice from the manufacturer Knorr from its range. “This article is currently not available,” is emblazoned on a sign on the Aromat shelf in the branches.
“We are convinced that we will soon be able to find a good solution for our customers with the supplier,” Migros said on request. Then it will become clear whether the retailer will also be successful in this power struggle.