As the cost of living continues to bite, Migros has announced that it will be cutting the price of 1.000 everyday goods over the next 14 months, while carrying out a billion-franc expansion. The news comes after a turbulent few months for one of the largest supermarket chains in Switzerland, with the company having to sell off subsidiaries and cut jobs.

Migros to "set the pace" when it comes to discount groceries

Writing in a statement, Migros said that it wanted to “set the pace” when it comes to food and drink shopping in Switzerland. The orange giant confirmed that it would be doing this by increasing the number of products it sells at a discount while investing 2 billion francs on expanding its reach across Swiss cities and cantons.

First, Migros confirmed that it would be cutting the price of 1.000 everyday items in 2024 and 2025. This will begin with 60 different vegetables and fruits, which have been sold with the new yellow “low price (Tiefpreis)” label since October 28. In all, the supermarket plans to spend 500 million francs on price reductions in the next five years.

Swiss supermarkets fight to compete with Aldi and Lidl

Rather than creating a new range of discounted products like M-Budget, the 1.000 items will be "branded products at discount prices," noted Migros executive Peter Diethelm. This means that even organic and premium items will be given a price cut in the future. 

Diethelm explained that it wanted to compete with German supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, with the former having cut meat prices by up to 36 percent back in September. When asked what would happen if the discounters cut their prices further, he said that theirs “will go down too.”

Migros to build 140 stores by 2030

In addition, Migros announced that it would be building 140 new branches over the next five years. According to Migros CEO Mario Irminger, these new stores will be set up in areas “where the population is growing rapidly." The majority are expected to be smaller branches, of which 30 will be Vois - the brand of Migros which sells alcohol. 

The brand also hopes to refurbish and modernise 350 existing supermarkets by the end of the decade. By 2030, there will be 930 Migros branches in Switzerland, up from the 790 that exist today. 

Migros rides a wave of lay and selloffs

The news follows a series of major changes at Migros, ranging from selling off subsidiaries to laying off workers. As of the end of September, the company has sold half of its SportX stores to rival Ochsner Sport, its Bike World Stores to manufacturer Thömus, its hit restaurant / store Bridge in Zurich and 20 of its 37 Melectronics stores to MediaMarkt.

In future, it also wants to sell its travel agency Hotelplan, Micasa furniture stores, Do it + Garden stores and cosmetic subsidiary Mibelle. As a consequence, 6.500 workers at Migros have been reassigned since the start of the year, while 1.500 people have lost their jobs.

Back in June, Irminger explained that many of its specialist stores are very unprofitable, which puts extra pressure on its grocery stores. By getting rid of them, they reason that they will be able to focus on supermarkets and spend more on cutting prices and expanding brands it knows to be successful.

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