The strong franc and consumer tourism have been blamed by Switzerland’s largest supermarket chain, Migros, for a 22 per cent drop in net profit last year.
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Migros reported a SFr192 million ($212 million) fall in profits to SFr659 million while sales revenue sank 0.9 per cent to SFr24.9 billion.
The results of both Migros and rival group Coop – which saw profits drop eight per cent last year – have been affected by Swiss consumers buying more goods in cheaper neighbouring countries.
A Credit Suisse survey estimated that Swiss retailers lost up to SFr5 billion in cross border shopping last year as consumers took flight from the strong franc in favour of weaker euro prices in countries such as Germany and France.
The two big Swiss supermarket chains have also been squeezed in the domestic market by the expansion of German discounters. Migros said on Wednesday that its share of the food market in Switzerland shrank by 0.6 per cent to 26.7 per cent last year.
Swiss discount supermarket Denner, owned by Migros, recorded flat profits last year while the group’s online business, Le Shop, saw a 1.3 per cent drop in results.
Migros also reported disappointing figures for its travel, furniture, books, CDs and electronic games subsidiaries.
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