Swiss supermarket chain Migros to vote on selling alcohol
Switzerland | Democracy rules. Because of its statutes, the Swiss supermarket chain Migros, which is the country’s largest and its major employer (100000 people), has asked its members to take a vote by 4 June 2022 whether Migros’ 600 supermarkets as well as its restaurants should be selling alcohol or not.
Switzerland is a country of 8.8 million people. Migros has nearly 2.3 million members, which underlines how rooted Migros is in Swiss life.
To encourage its members to cast their votes, Migros has launched a campaign featuring its as-yet-to-be-brewed private label beer: one label says “Oui” (yes), the other “Non” (no).
Join Migros and vote
Wait a minute: how can Migros ask its members to vote on the issue? Well, that is because Migros is structured as a cooperative federation, made up of eleven regional cooperatives. Every adult living in Switzerland can become a member (receive a share gratis) and vote at the general assembly; Migros does not pay any dividend, though. If it is too profitable it will invest more and do more good. In 2020, Migros group had a turnover of nearly CHF 30 billion (USD 32 billion) and a net profit of CHF 1.7 billion.
Because its founder, Gottlieb Duttweiler, decreed in 1928 that Migros should not sell any alcohol or tobacco to protect public health, the decision to change the statutes requires a democratic vote.
Migros’ other formats already sell booze
By the way, Migros is not wholly dry: some of its formats, like its chain of convenience stores, Migrolino (320 outlets) do sell alcohol, as does its chain of discount stores, Denner (580 outlets).
To allow for alcohol sales, a two-thirds majority vote in its regional cooperatives is required. However, Migros will sell the beer regardless as of 2023. It is just a question of whether it will be the full-strength variety, Oui, or the non-alcoholic version, Non.
In theory, only some of Migros’ outlets could be selling beer and other alcohol as of next year.
One thing is sure: Migros’ private label beers will be brewed in Switzerland.
