Migros
Type	Co-operative
Founded	1925
Headquarters	Zürich, ZH,  Switzerland
Products	supermarkets, petrol, electronics, books, homewares, etc... (mainly)
Revenue	20.64 billion CHF (2006)
Operating income	754 million CHF (2006)
Employees	79 000 (2006)
Website	www.migros.ch

Migros (IPA: [ˈmiɡro]) is one of Switzerland's largest enterprises, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. The name comes from the French "mi" for half or mid-way and "gros", which means wholesale. Thus the word connotes prices that are halfway between retail and wholesale. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) comprises a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members, with no passive shareholders. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of Zurich, see Zurich (disambiguation). ... The Canton of Zürich (German: Kanton ) has a population of about 1. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... CHF is: The ISO 4217 code for the Swiss franc. ... Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), also known as operating income and operating profit, is a term used to describe a companys earnings. ... CHF is: The ISO 4217 code for the Swiss franc. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Migros Türk Ticaret A.Åž. is the biggest chain of supermarkets in Turkey. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ...

The logo of the company is a large orange M, which some Swiss call "the orange giant". The firm's loyalty card is the M-cumulus card (a play on the word accumulate and a type of cloud formation). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, or club card is a plastic card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card, that identifies the card holder as a member in a commercial incentives programme. ...

History

Migros was founded in 1925 in Zürich as a private enterprise by Gottlieb Duttweiler, who had the idea of selling just six basic foodstuffs at low prices to householders who, in those days, did not have ready access to markets of any kind. At first he sold only coffee, rice, sugar, noodles, coconut oil and soap from trucks that went from one village or hamlet to another. Later he and his drivers expanded their inventory and in 1926 Duttweiler built his first market, also in Zürich. His second store, in Ticino, presaged the future because it was founded as a cooperative. By 1941 the energetic entrepreneur had built a number of markets but in that year he basically gave the business to his customers by transforming everything from his privately owned enterprises into regional cooperatives, headed by the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (FCM) (German: Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund, MGB, French: La Fédération des Coopératives Migros, FCM). Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of Zurich, see Zurich (disambiguation). ... Gottlieb Duttweiler (15 August 1888 in Zürich - 8 June 1962 in Rüschlikon) was a Swiss businessman, founding the Migros chain of grocery stores, and politician, starting the (LDU) party. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Swiss canton Ticino. ... For cooperative as used in biochemistry, see cooperative binding. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

The front of a Migros store in Metalli, Zug, Switzerland

A Swiss chocolate aisle in a branch of Migros in Interlaken. You can just see the M-Budget chocolate on the bottom shelf.

As early as 1935, Duttweiler showed his zest for expansion by founding the Hotelplan travel agency. Later the Migros brand was applied to a weekly magazine, Wir Brückenbauer (now know as Migros Magazin) in 1942. Other ventures were restaurants in 1952, gasoline stations (Migrol) in 1954, language schools (Eurocentres) in 1956, a bank (Migros Bank, Banque Migros) in 1957 and an insurance company, 1959. It opened its first foreign supermarket in the frontier region of France, at Thoiry, in 1993, and its first recreation park, Säntispark, at Abtwil in St. Gallen, in 1986. Download high resolution version (2288x1712, 658 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2288x1712, 658 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...   (-German; French: Zoug; Italian: Zugo) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Swisschocolateinsupermarket. ... Image File history File links Swisschocolateinsupermarket. ... Interlaken is a municipality in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The Canton of St. ...

Migros today

To this day, Migros keeps the cooperative society as its form of organization. Nowadays, a large part of the Swiss population are members of the Migros cooperative – around 2 million of Switzerland's total population of 7,2 million^{[1] [2]}, thus making Migros a supermarket chain that is owned by its customers.

Reflecting the altruism of its founder, Migros operates a number of evening schools for working adults, featuring classes in cooking, languages and other subjects. It has obligated itself to spend one percent of its annual turnover for financing cultural projects in a broad sense; the sub-organization taking care of this is called Migros Kulturprozent^[3] ("cultural percent"). An example of the Kulturprozent's activity is its own record label Musiques Suisses often featuring little-known works from Swiss music history. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The supermarkets are categorized in the three size classes of M, MM and MMM, similar to Migros Türk in Turkey (sold to a Turkish group in 1975). Migros Türk Ticaret A.Åž. is the biggest chain of supermarkets in Turkey. ...

Migros acquired some notoriety in 1977 when it fired its severest internal critic, Hans A. Pestalozzi. Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Hans A. Pestalozzi (1929 - July 14, 2004) was a Swiss social critic who, in the prime of life, broke free from the Establishment and started a new life explaining and criticizing late 20th century capitalism, which eventually led to his becoming a bestselling author (Nach uns die Zukunft, Auf die...

M-Budget and Migros Sélection

In 1996, influenced by the budget ranges in supermarket chains in Australia^[4], Migros made their budget range called M-Budget with 70 products aimed at those with low incomes and large families. Now it has grown to 330 products including mountain bikes, snowboards, mp3 players, milk chocolate, jeans, shoes and lighters. M-Budget products have a standardized packaging color scheme, consisting of a grass green background with the Migros logo in small white text repeated over it. A cross country mountain bike race A hardtail mountain bike A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated MTB or ATB (All Terrain Bicycle)) is a bicycle designed for mountain biking, either on dirt trails or other unpaved environments. ... A snowboard with strap-in bindings A snowboard is a board ridden in snowboarding to descend a snow-covered slope. ... Apple iPod, the most popular hard drive-based digital audio player An embedded hard drive-based player (Creative Zen Vision:M), one of the many alternatives for the iPod An MP3 CD player (Philips Expanium) Some mobile phones can be used as digital audio players, such as the Nokia 6233. ... Chocolate block in melted chocolate Chocolate is a common ingredient in many kinds of sweets—one of the most popular in the world. ... Blue Jeans (Levis 506) Jeans are trousers traditionally made from denim, but may also be made from a variety of fabrics including corduroy. ... shoe for right foot A shoe is a piece of footwear for humans, less than a boot and more than a slipper. ... A metal naphtha lighter A lighter is a device used to create fire with the intent to ignite another substance such as a cigarette, smoking pipe, or charcoal in a grill. ...

Many of these products are produced in limited quantities rather than as an integral, permanent part of the Migros line. Whether they become permanent depends on their success. This, combined with the considerable brand recognition that Migros enjoys, conveys a certain amount of desirability to the rarer products. As a result, M-Budget items will sometimes be considered collectibles, as it is not always sure that they will ever be produced again.

To promote the range, in first years of the new millennium Migros developed the M-Budget Party scheme with tickets costing CHF 9,90 including free non-alcoholic drinks (cola, lemonade and orange juice) and snacks (crisps, chocolate and cakes). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Orange juice is sometimes artificially colored to match the color of orange rinds. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Potato chips. ... Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In 2005 Migros lauched M-Budget Mobile and Migros Mobile, a mobile phone company using Swisscom's network.

In April 2006, Migros announced the M-Budget credit card, an initiative between FCM, GE Money Bank and MasterCard, originally with an annual rate of CHF 4,40, which is low compared to credit card annual rates of CHF 100 for a MigrosBank MasterCard Argent credit card. The card was ready by the autumn 2006. After Coop, the biggest competitor of Migros, announced a credit card without any annual rate, Migros scrapped it annual charge. Migros later announced the full details of the credit card, it will have an APR of 9.9% and the ability to gain cumulus points (1 point per 2 francs). MasterCard Worldwide (NYSE: MA) is a membership organization owned by the 25,000+ financial institutions that issue its card. ... ISO 4217 Code CHF User(s) Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Campione dItalia Inflation 1. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Bold text Coop ... Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is an expression of the effective interest rate that will be paid on a loan, taking into account one-time fees and standardizing the way the rate is expressed. ...

In 2005, Migros introduced a premium line called Migros Sélection, featuring for the most part food products typically associated with higher budgets and prepared in different fashions than is available through general stock. Sélection products also have their distinctive packaging, with pearl white and gold color schemes.

The Migros ethic

Migros sells neither alcoholic beverages nor cigarettes in its flagship supermarkets, but some retailers acquired by Migros continue selling these products; this includes Globus, Kiosk, Migrol, Denner and Pick-Pay stores, as well as their online shopping service LeShop.ch. Migros does not sell racy magazines, either. Globus is a Swiss department store company, that runs 11 department stores in Switzerland plus the Herren Globus chain of menswear stores, Office World chain of office supplies stores plus management of the cartoon character Globi. ... Denner is a supermarket chain in Switzerland. ...

Companies

Migros headquarter in Zurich

Swiss Migros: Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2000x3008, 1626 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Migros Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2000x3008, 1626 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Migros Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create...

• Migros – supermarkets
• LeShop.ch – an online supermarket (cooperation started in 2004 - 80% of shares bought in 2006) [1]
• Migrol – petrol stations
• M-electronics– electronic stores and internet music download service
• OBI – Do it yourself stores
• FitnessPark – fitness centres
• Do it+Garden Migros – Do it yourself stores and garden centres
• Micasa – furniture stores
• MigrosBank – bank (it is the fifth-largest in Switzerland)
• Golfpark – public golf courses
• Change Migros – currency exchange
• Ex Libris – bookshops
• Migros Klubschule – adult education centres
• SportXX – sports shops
• Eurocentres – language schools
• Frey – chocolate manufactures
• Migros Magazin – the company's sales magazine
• Hotelplan – holidays company
• Florissimail – postal flower service

Globus Group (became part of Migros in 1997) Exterior of a typical British supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) This Flagship Randalls store in Houston, Texas is an example of an upscale supermarket. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Modern gas station A filling station, gas station or petrol station is a facility that sells fuel for road motor vehicles – usually petrol (US: gas/gasoline), diesel fuel and LPG. The term gas station is mostly particular to the United States of America and Canada, where petrol is known... See also: DIY Network, a cable TV network. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... See also: DIY Network, a cable TV network. ... A garden centre is a retail firm that sells plants and products related to gardens as its primary business. ... welcome:: This is an article about items in a room. ... “Banker” redirects here. ... This article is about the sport. ... Categories: Bookstores | Stub ... Libraries are useful resources for adult learners. ... A language school is where one can learn a foreign language. ... Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. ... Globus is a Swiss department store company, that runs 11 department stores in Switzerland plus the Herren Globus chain of menswear stores, Office World chain of office supplies stores plus management of the cartoon character Globi. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ...

• Interio – furniture stores
• Globus – department stores
• Globus Herren – menswear stores
• Office World – office supplies (not the British Office Worlds, owned by Staples)
• Globi – a cartoon character who is mascot of the Globus Group, often refers as Switzerland's Mickey Mouse.

Denner (and also Pick-Pay) are now part of the Migros supermarket and minimarket network. Denner will not be rebranded and will continue to sell tobocco and alcoholic drinks. welcome:: This is an article about items in a room. ... Globus is a Swiss department store company, that runs 11 department stores in Switzerland plus the Herren Globus chain of menswear stores, Office World chain of office supplies stores plus management of the cartoon character Globi. ... The interior of a typical Macys department store. ... Staples, Inc. ... Globi is a Swiss cartoon character often referred as Switzerlands Mickey Mouse. ... Mickey Mouse headshot The image above is proposed for deletion. ...

Competitors

The main competitor is Coop, Switzerland's second-largest supermarket chain, a cooperative like Migros, but with a more centralized organization.^[5] Amongst the smaller competitors are the Manor department store chain, and more recently Carrefour and Aldi. Although Carrefour and Aldi are very large international supermarket groups, they entered the Swiss market only recently (Aldi opened its first Swiss shops in 2005) and thus operate just a few branches at the present time. However, it is expected that especially Aldi will become one of the major competitors of both Migros and Coop, as it managed to set established supermarket chains in other countries under heavy pressure through an aggressive discount strategy. A further expected competitor is Lidl which has announced to establish supermarkets in Switzerland shortly. Bold text Coop ... For cooperative as used in biochemistry, see cooperative binding. ... Manor AG is a swiss department store chain, majoring in the sales from groceries to electrical appliances. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...  , short for ALbrecht DIscount, is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany and one of the largest retail chains worldwide. ... A Lidl store in Launceston, United Kingdom Lidl is a European discount supermarket chain of German origin that operates 5,000 stores. ...

In January 2007, Migros acquired a majority stake in Denner Discount, effectively merging the largest and third largest food retail chains in Switzerland. According to both companies, the move was effected in order for the Denner chain to better compete with increasing foreign competition.^[6] Denner is a supermarket chain in Switzerland. ...

Criticism

Some critics like Sorgim, a Swiss non-profit organization (its name is Migros backwards), claim that Migros has lost touch with its founder's ideals. They say that the cooperative is not governed democratically by its members as it was once envisioned by Duttweiler. It is argued that instead, through various amendments to the by-laws, it is now the executive board that decides over all major business matters and policies.

References

is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

External links

• Migros Switzerland website, in German, French & Italian
• Migros Sélection website, in German, French & Italian
• Sorgim's website