Swiss distribution group Micros saw its annual turnover grow by 1.4% to 28.5 Swiss franks in 2018. Earlier, its rival Coop also significantly increased its turnover and reached the milestone of 30 billion CHF for the first time.
Unchallenged
Based on consolidated numbers, Coop is bigger than Migros: the former generated a turnover growth of 5% in 2018, ending at 30.7 billion CHF or 27.4 billion euros. The latter stalled at 25.4 billion euros. But retail sales show the reverse of that picture: Migros’s market share is growing and leading with a turnover of 21.2 billion euros compared to Coop’s 15.7 billion.
Coop and Migros are among Switzerland’s biggest employers, with 89,579 and 89,671 employees, respectively. In terms of the amount of stores, Coop is the undisputed winner, though: 918 sales points compared to 617 for Migros. Still, that number only includes supermarkets, but both companies also run stores specialised in sports, DIY and electronics.
And what about discounters Aldi and Lidl? They’re insignificant in the mountainous nation: both in terms of turnover (1.7 billion euros for Aldi, 982 million for Lidl according to GfK numbers) and number of stores (200 and 120, respectively). Still, it’s worth noting that both German groups haven’t been active in Switzerland for very long and so they have some catching up to do.
