Product Code Database
Migros () is Switzerland's largest retail company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It is also one of the forty largest retailers in the world. It is structured in the form of a cooperative federation (the Federation of Migros Cooperatives), with more than two million members.
It co-founded Turkey's largest retailer, also named Migros, which became independent of Migros Switzerland in 1975.
The name comes from the French "mi" for half or mid-way and "gros", which means wholesale. Thus the word connotes prices that are halfway between retail and wholesale. The logo of the company is a large orange M. Migros is often referred to as "the orange giant" (German: oranger Riese, French: géant orange, Italian: gigante arancio).
Duttweiler and his drivers expanded their inventory and, in 1926, the first market opened its doors in Zurich. His second store, in Ticino, presaged the future as it was founded as a cooperative. By 1941, the energetic entrepreneur had built a number of markets but, in that year, he basically gave the business to his customers by transforming everything from his privately owned enterprises into regional , headed by the Federation of Migros Cooperatives.
As early as 1935, Duttweiler showed his zest for expansion by founding the Hotelplan travel agency. In 1942, the Migros brand was applied to a weekly magazine, Wir Brückenbauer (now known as Migros MagazineNames of the French editions are Pionnier Migros (1944-1947), Construire (1947-2004) and Migros magazine (since 2004).). Other ventures were Restaurant in 1952, Filling station (Migrol) in 1954, Language school (Eurocentres) in 1956, the Migros Bank in 1957 and an Insurance in 1959.
In 1948, the economist Elsa Gasser convinced Duttweiler to introduce the self-service approach in Migros stores, paving the way for the development of Switzerland's most successful supermarket chain.
On behalf of the Migros Federation, the Zurich-based Reederei Zürich AG ordered at the H. C. Stülcken Sohn shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, the cargo ship Adele which was launched on 15 July 1952; the ship was christened by Adele Duttweiler, the wife of Gottlieb Duttweiler.
In 1954 Migros entered the Turkey market, forming Migros Türk in partnership with the Istanbul City Council. This was sold to the Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding in 1975 and is the largest retailer in Turkey. Between 2008 and 2011, Koç Holding sold most of its shares of Migros Türk to BC Partners. It would not be until 1993 for Migros to open another foreign supermarket, this time in Thoiry, near Geneva.
1986 saw Migros' first recreation park, Säntispark, in Gaiserwald.
In 1995, Migros introduced its organic label "Migros Bio" (products which follow the Bio Suisse guidelines). In 2017, it added a specific label for organic products containing at least 90% Swiss ingredients ("Migros Bio Suisse").
In October 2012, Migros expanded in the German market by acquiring the Hesse food store chain Tegut. In the same year, Migros opened the first Swiss store of German organic supermarket chain Alnatura. Migros begins major offensive in organic market. Fresh Plaza, 13 September 2013 In 2013, however, the company announced the sale to the REWE Group of its four Migros-branded stores in Germany, the first of which had established in 1995 in Lörrach, near Basel. Migros schließt Filialen in Freiburg und Lörrach
In 2016, Migros announced that it would phase-out free plastic bags at check-out. Michel Guillaume, "L'économie suisse promet de verdir", Le temps, Monday 26 September 2016, page 4. Published on-line as "L'économie suisse promet de verdir malgré le rejet de l'initiative" on 25 September 2016 (page visited on 26 September 2016). Migros had tested the measure in the Canton of Vaud since 2013: the measure had reduced the number of plastic bags distributed by ninety percent (and saved 100,000 Swiss francs per year). Michael West, "Environnement. 'Petits prix pour grands effets'", Migros magazine, number 39, 29 September 2016, page 38-39. Migros was the first to introduce the measure across the country, on 1 November 2016. The company also announced that profits from the remaining sale of plastic bags would be invested in environmental projects. "Chez Coop et Migros, les sacs jetables vont désormais coûter 5 centimes", Radio télévision suisse, 22 September 2016 (page visited on 25 September 2016).
In 2024-2025, Migros sold several companies of the group (bike, do-it-yourself, electronics, furniture and sport shops, travel agencies and cosmetic factories) to focus on four fields within Switzerland (food retail, non-food retail, bank and health).
Here is a summary of some characteristics of Migros and its "responsible" philosophy guided by Gottlieb and Adele Duttweiler's "fifteen theses":
Adèle and Gottlieb Duttweiler's "fifteen theses" (1950), without being legally binding, are an ethical heritage of Migros. They contain values and guidance such as a goal of "serving the community", "The general principle that we profess is to place people at the center of the economy" and "The general interest will be placed higher than the interests of the Migros cooperatives".
The company attracted controversy, however, when in 1977 it fired its most outspoken internal critic, Hans A. Pestalozzi, who was then working for the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, a think tank whose goal was to investigate the shortcomings of capitalism in modern society.
In 2021, Migros began considering alcohol sales in its supermarkets. A June 2022 vote was held and the sale of alcohol was rejected by each of the ten regional cooperatives by an overwhelming majority of their members.
It has obligated itself to spend one percent of its annual turnover for financing cultural projects in a broad sense; the sub-organisation taking care of this is called Migros KulturprozentOfficial site of Migros Kulturprozent (in German, French, and Italian) ("cultural percent").
The supermarkets are categorized in the three size classes of M, MM and MMM. The firm's loyalty card is the M-cumulus card (a play on the word accumulate and a type of cloud formation).
Many of these products are produced in limited quantities rather than as an integral, permanent part of the Migros line. Whether they become permanent depends on their success. This, combined with the considerable brand recognition that Migros enjoys, conveys a certain amount of desirability to the rarer products. As a result, M-Budget items will sometimes be considered collectibles, as it is not always sure that they will ever be produced again.
To promote the range in the early 2000s Migros developed M-Budget Party tickets costing 9.90 CHF including free non-alcoholic drinks (cola, lemonade and orange juice) and snacks (crisps, chocolate and cakes).
In 2005, together with Swisscom, Migros launched M-Budget Mobile, a pay-as-you-go MVNO mobile virtual network operator.
Also in 2005, Migros introduced a premium line called Migros sélection, featuring for the most part food products typically associated with higher budgets and prepared in different fashions than is available through general stock. Sélection products also have their distinctive packaging, with pearl white and gold color schemes.
In April 2006, Migros announced the M-Budget credit card, an initiative between the Federation of Migros Cooperatives, GE Money Bank and MasterCard, originally with an annual fee of Swiss franc 4.40, which was very low compared to credit card annual fees of CHF 100 for a MigrosBank MasterCard Argent credit card. The card was ready by the autumn 2006. After Coop, the biggest competitor of Migros, announced a credit card without any annual fee, Migros scrapped its annual fee.
In 2014 the company again followed its main competitor Coop and started implementing self-checkout.
M-Industry companies include:
M-Industry products are exported to fifty countries, including China (under the name Orange Garten, p=Ōuruìjiā, in partnership with Tmall).
In January 2007 Migros acquired 70 per cent Denner's shares, effectively merging the largest and third-largest food retail chains in Switzerland. According to both companies, the move took place in order for the Denner chain to better compete with increasing foreign competition.
Switzerland's largest retailer, Migros, has purchased a majority stake in the country's third largest food chain, Denner. from Swissinfo
Philosophy
Gottlieb Duttweiler was concerned about the health of his customers and decided that Migros would not sell any alcoholic beverages nor any tobacco. It is still the case today; although Denner, owned by the Migros group, does sell alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.
Migros was also a prominent supporter of women's suffrage in Switzerland, it financed a considerable amount of the yes campaigns in the different cantons and also the two national referendums in 1959 and 1971. It counted with an in-house women suffrage committee and for the yes campaign of the successful national referendum in 1971, Migros gave out paper bags printed with advertising for the yes campaign. In its weekly company magazine, which counted with a circulation of about 600'000 magazines, it published articles supporting women's suffrage ahead of the referendum for several weeks.
Migros today
To this day, Migros keeps the cooperative society as its form of organisation. A large part of the Swiss population are members of the Migros cooperative – around 2 million of Switzerland's total population of 8.4 million,Article by Thomas Hammer in German newspaper Die Zeit (in German)Article by Constantin Seibt in Swiss newspaper WOZ (in German) thus making Migros a supermarket chain that is owned by its customers. More than 90% of the assortment of goods is produced by ninety subsidiaries of Migros.
M-Budget and Migros Sélection
In 1996, influenced by the budget ranges in supermarket chains in Australia, Produits M-Budget: l'histoire d'un succès , on the Migros website. Retrieved 16 August 2007. Migros made their budget range called M-Budget with seventy products aimed at those with low incomes and large families. Now it has grown to 330 products including , , mp3 players, milk chocolate, jeans, shoes and lighters. M-Budget products have a standardized packaging color scheme, consisting of a grass green background with the Migros logo in small white text repeated over it.
Companies
M-Industry
A large part of the products sold in the Migros supermarkets are produced by its own companies (M-Industry), mostly in Switzerland. M-Industry (page visited on 22 December 2017). In 2017, M-Industry comprised 32 companies, 25 of which were in Switzerland, and produce more than 20,000 products for the Migros supermarkets.
Globus group (formerly owned by Migros)
Globus Group became part of Migros in 1997, but was sold to Signa Holding and Central Group in 2020.
Former
These brands were part of the Migros group in the past but have been closed or sold:
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Competitors
Migros's main competitor, Coop (Switzerland's second-largest supermarket chain), also has a cooperative structure like Migros, but with a more centralized organization.Article "Coop (Schweiz)" in German Wikipedia Smaller competitors include the Manor department-store chain, and more recently German Discount store Aldi. A further competitor, Lidl, established its first Swiss supermarkets in March 2009.
See also
Notes and references
External links
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