Migros Group broke a record but…: Sales of specialist stores are falling significantly – will there be discounts?

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Migros does not need restructuring, it has a financially sound structure. Migros boss Mario Irminger (58) said this to Blick last November. The orange giant does not announce its profit figures until the end of March. However, sales figures for the last financial year have now been published. And they are impressive. Migros Group reached a sales record of 31.9 billion francs (plus 5.9 percent). Retail trade in Switzerland accounts for sales of $24 billion (plus 4.1 percent).

Migros boss Irminger said in his statement, “We managed to gain a significant market share in the supermarket business, which is the heart of Migros.” At the same time, he also makes the following warning: “We definitely need to increase our profitability.” Supermarket AG, which started operating at the beginning of the year, is intended to bring efficiency. Irminger has a taste for customers. He announced that there will be price reductions on approximately 450 products starting next week. Migros’ boss promises further price cuts throughout the year.

Restructuring in specialist stores this year

Big problem child: Migros specialist stores. Formats such as Bike World, Do it + Garden, Meelectronics, Micasa, SportX and DIY store Obi’s franchise stores in Switzerland are in crisis. Its sales fell by 7.7 percent compared to the previous year, falling to 1.5 billion francs. Migros Zurich, the best-selling cooperative of the Migros Group, reported that there were problems in its specialized stores last week. For example, Migros Zurich closed the Obi branch in Affoltern in Albis ZH.

Migros Group also closed many branches of the Meelectronics format and integrated some home electronics product lines into nearby supermarket branches. More discounts are imminent this year. Size? Still unknown. Irminger will likely explain in more detail in the second quarter what consequences the “challenging fixed environment of Migros specialist stores” has had on the formats. Everything is possible for Irminger, from narrowing the footprint to selling or closing certain retailers and specialist formats. It won’t work without layoffs.

Comparable only when profits are on the table

According to the statement made by Migros, “the great success of non-food online commerce” is responsible for these turmoil. Here, Migros and online giant Digitec-Galaxus are the leaders in Switzerland. Migros’ total online sales increased by 10.3 percent, reaching 4.1 billion francs. More than half of this figure of 2.5 billion currently comes from Digitec-Galaxus.

Coop, the major Basel distributor, announced a few days ago its total sales: 34.7 billion Swiss francs in the 2023 financial year. Retail sales, in which Coop includes sales in all supermarkets, specialty markets and online stores, remained at 19.9 billion Swiss francs. Migros therefore defines itself as “clearly number 1” in Swiss retail business. However, this situation can only be properly resolved after both major distributors announce their profit figures.

Source :Blick