In a few weeks, Switzerland will face the vote of the year: about 2.3 million members of the cooperative will decide whether alcohol should be sold at Migros in the future. They will receive their voting documents at the beginning of May and can cast their votes until June 4. If at least two-thirds of them say yes, there will be beer, wine and spirits in Migros supermarkets, restaurants and fast food from 2023.
This would be the end of a nearly 100-year-old tradition – and depending on the outcome of the vote, it is conceivable that in some areas alcohol will be on Migros shelves and not in others.
set of values for M.
An important voice in the debate now speaks, as research by SonntagsBlick shows: Herbert Puliger (68), Migros chair from 2005 to 2017, is part of a newly founded association calling itself the M Values Group and for wants to fight to maintain the alcohol ban. When asked, Puliger justified his commitment as follows: “By selling alcohol, Migros values are weakened. Migros will lose a bit of their uniqueness. We want to point this out.”
Polliger does not want to reveal who else is involved. One is in the process of designing a “modest but effective campaign”. Ads and website are currently being processed.
“It is not my place to judge the opinions of others.”
Fabrice Zumpronin, 52, who has held Migros’ presidency since 2018, is reluctant to comment on his predecessor’s sudden retirement: “It’s not up to me to judge other people’s opinions,” he said this week on the sidelines of the conference. The Balance Sheet Media Conference on SonntagsBlick.
Having different opinions is part of the democratic process. The task of the current Migros administration is to facilitate an open discussion. Zompronin: “We did it from the beginning and we do it now. On our website, for example, all the arguments for or against the ban on alcohol are listed.
In fact, Migros makes the same number of arguments for and against repealing the self-imposed alcohol ban on the Internet. But it is also a fact that the majority of Jean Migros would like to introduce alcohol in the future. The majority of the 10 regional cooperatives have spoken out in favor of alcohol sales, and the newspaper “NZZ am Sonntag” reported last week that the cooperative’s board of directors has now also decided yes.
Duttweiler’s will
An important argument for lifting the ban is the fact that Migros already sells alcohol in its online supermarket, in Diner and Migrolino. So proponents find it discredited that traditionalists present the ban on alcohol as a “unique selling point” and point to the will of Migros founder Gottlieb Dettweiler, who imposed the ban in 1928.
Herbert Poliger is not entirely innocent in this dilemma. The Aargauer designed Denner’s purchase in 2007 – thus giving alcohol more weight in Migros. However, Puliger sees no contradiction in this. He notes that the alcohol business was introduced to the Migros group long before the acquisition of Diner – with the purchase of Globus in 1997. Moreover, after the acquisitions of Globus and Denner, the Migros subsidiaries do not sell alcohol. And that too.”
Bolliger also refers to Gottlieb Duttweiler, who said public health has been an important concern. Today, Migros continues to make targeted investments in the health sector and offers a wide range of health products. So alcohol will be a shift in this Migros health pathway.”
Controversy is used in faith for a marketing campaign
The decision to drink alcohol is a critical test for Migros. The company’s management is now trying to turn the religious dispute into a marketing campaign. For example, two beers were ordered from a brewery, which will be included in the range depending on the result of the vote. If you say yes, you get an ‘oy’ beer with alcohol, if you say no, you get a ‘non-alcoholic’ beer.
good idea. However, if it really happened that in the future alcohol will be sold in the Zurich Migros branch and not in the Bern branch, the marketing ploy may backfire …
More about alcohol in Migros
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