Coop overtakes Migros in battle of Swiss food retailers

Coop is catching up particularly strongly in the meat and fresh vegetable sector, although Migros is advertising a promise of the lowest price. Keystone-SDA

Swiss retailer Migros is marking its 100th anniversary this year, but there is not much reason to celebrate. According to the SonntagsZeitung, the cooperative giant is continuing to lose market share in its core business, while Coop is growing.

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In an article published on Sunday, the SonntagsZeitung referred to the Nielsen Retail Monitor. This is an internal comparison between the major Swiss retailers. According to this, Coop has a 43% market share in food and food-related products, while Migros has 37.4%.

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Coop is catching up particularly strongly in the meat and fresh vegetable sector, although Migros is advertising a promise of the lowest price, especially for vegetables. Press officer Prisca Huguenin-dit-Lenoir referred to short-term losses due to price reductions: “Our customers are already saving CHF500 million [$620 million] this year.” This will have a short-term impact on market share, she said. In the long term, Migros plans to renovate 350 shops and open 140 new ones by 2030.

According to the report, Coop is scoring points with continuous investments in low prices and the Pronto convenience shop concept: sales grew by 16% in 2024 alone. Coop CEO Philipp Wyss emphasised that the restructuring at Migros has brought his company additional customers.

Migros is catching up in the small formats, with convenience shop Migrolino, and is indirectly circumventing its historical ban on selling alcohol: alcoholic drinks are sold at partner locations such as petrol stations.

German discounters are also expanding: Lidl is planning 300 new shops, while Aldi considers the Swiss market to be sufficiently developed. Formerly the clear number one in Switzerland, Migros has lost its top position. In the food retail ranking, Coop is in the lead, with a total turnover of CHF34.91 billion, ahead of Migros with CHF32.5 billion.

Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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