Switzerland’s largest retailer, Migros co-operative, has reported strong growth and increased sales in 2023.
After record sales in 2022, Migros saw overall growth of 5.9% in 2023, with a turnover of CHF 31.9bn (£29bn).
Health has been an area of particular growth, with an overall increase of 74.2%, to CHF 1.3bn (£1.2bn), including the Migros-owned Medbase Group, which grew by 95.2%, CHF 1bn (£0.9bn).
The co-op’s retail sales in Switzerland totalled CHF 24.1bn (£22bn, an increase of 4.1%, while total Migros online sales grew by 10.3% to CHF 4.1bn (£3.7bn).
The retailer’s stationary supermarket business grew by 3.6% and Migros catering saw an increase of 10.2%.
Alongside growth in a number of areas, Migros also saw some decline due to changing markets. Migrol petrol stations recorded a drop in sales of 15.0%, and its specialist stores including Bike World, Do it + Garden, Melectronics, SportX, Micasa and OBI recorded a 7.7% decline in sales.
In its newly opened Supermarket AG chain, Migros is reducing prices on around 450 products, with plans for further reductions later in the year. This, says Migros, will help to relieve the burden on households affected by higher health insurance premiums and rents.
“We managed to gain significant market share in the supermarket business, which is the heart of Migros,” said Migros president Mario Irminger, but also warned that: “The challenges remain great. In order to be able to continue to offer our customers top services, we must sustainably strengthen our market position and urgently increase profitability.”