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The Migros ballot on the sale of alcohol moves Switzerland. The focus is on sales growth and addictive behavior. Pros and cons disagree about the impact on the retailer’s image.
So far, you have looked in vain for beer and wine on the Migros shelves. However, this almost hundred-year-old tradition could soon come to an end. By June 4, 2.3 million members of the cooperative will vote on whether Migros should sell alcohol in the future.
“The ban is no longer up-to-date,” said Renata Georg, member of the cooperative council of Migros Zurich, in the “Arena” on Friday evening.
Georg co-initiated the alcohol vote and thus got the debate rolling. She wants to adapt the Migros statutes to reality. “You can’t say you don’t sell alcohol and at the same time be the second largest alcohol seller.”
After all, the Migros Group is already selling alcohol, for example in the Denner branches or online. The lifting of the ban is necessary to maintain credibility.
Migros could jeopardize its image
For the opponents, a core value of the Migros identity and thus Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler’s legacy is in danger. “When the Migros brand is perceived, the ban on the sale of alcohol ranks at the top,” said brand expert Stefan Vogler. As a result, Migros enjoys great sympathy throughout Switzerland.
The sale of alcohol corresponds to the customer’s need.
The retailer is jeopardizing this reputation by selling alcohol, said Vogler. “It could at least be the beginning of Dutti’s values no longer being lived.”
Nicolo Paganini, a member of the Migros administration in Eastern Switzerland, however, said that the sale of alcohol corresponded to customer needs. “Customers should be able to get everything in the same shop.” The additional sales in turn lead to greater social commitment and investments in the customer experience, in the range and in the stores.
Ueli Mäder, emeritus professor of sociology, disagreed with this view. You have long sought freedom in anonymity. Today, consumers are looking for something personal. “Everything is the same everywhere and a bit dull, the offers are piling up, which is why entrepreneurial thinking is required that celebrates differences.”
In addition, freedom also has a responsibility component, said Mäder. Migros could now send an important signal that “health is more important than sales”.
Banning alcohol or promoting addiction therapies?
Matthias Müller, President of the Jungfreisinnigen, doubted whether Migros’ alcohol ban could have a major impact on alcohol addiction and instead came up with a marketing idea.
Instead of speaking bans, the retailer should rather invest in one percent alcohol. For example, part of the income from the sale of alcohol could flow directly into addiction therapy and prevention work. Society as a whole would benefit from this and Migros would in turn stand out from the competition.
It’s important that alcohol-free places like this exist.
That’s not enough for the opponents. Lilian Studer, President of the EPP, said that Migros offers a protected opportunity for people who are addicted to alcohol and those at risk of addiction to shop without being tempted.
Affected people would appreciate this framework, the former managing director of the Blue Cross Aargau/Lucerne knows. “It is important that such alcohol-free places exist.”
“We resolutely put people at the center of our thinking,” was Duttweiler’s credo. Migros is basically open to opinions, said Renata Georg. The management will implement what the members of the cooperative will decide at the ballot box. The ballot is therefore entirely in the spirit of Dutti.