Migros plans to open 140 new supermarkets

Migros wants to attack again with its food retail business, which has come under pressure from discount competition. This was the central message of a press conference in Zurich yesterday, at which the cooperative presented its plans for its core business. It was already known that the Group intends to focus more strongly on the supermarket business and reduce other activities. The company is talking about the "biggest transformation in recent decades".

The sale of loss-making subsidiaries outside the food business is already well advanced. Migros' plans for the supermarkets are now also becoming more concrete: Over the next five years, a total of CHF 2 billion is to be invested in new and more modern stores. The plan is to open 140 new stores, most of them small branches in areas where the population is growing rapidly. As a result, "Migros will be the closest supermarket for a further 200,000 households", according to the statement. By 2030, the Migros store network, including Voi and Migros partner stores, is set to grow from just under 790 today to around 930. According to the announcement, a total of 350 existing supermarkets will also be modernized or expanded by 2030.

Other announcements aimed at strengthening competitiveness with discount competitors include price reductions, a higher proportion of private labels and a stronger focus on freshness and regionality. (aw)