Migros considers merging 10 regional cooperatives into a single entity

Restructuring the cooperative model

Migros management is evaluating plans to dismantle its decentralized governance architecture and consolidate its ten regional cooperatives. Internal deliberations are concentrated on two potential paths: reducing the ten existing entities into three regional cooperatives covering Western, Central, and Eastern Switzerland, or executing a merger into a single nationwide cooperative. Migros Chief Executive Mario Irminger favors the single unified cooperative model to eliminate redundant regional overhead. The initiative represents the most extensive organizational shift since the founding of the cooperative framework. An internal consensus among cooperative leaders is nearing completion.

Historical structure and operating costs

The current organizational framework was established in 1941 by company founder Gottlieb Duttweiler (1888–1962), who converted Migros from a stock corporation into a cooperative. Duttweiler deliberately designed a decentralized model with powerful regional entities and a weaker central body, mirroring the federalist political system of Switzerland. Under this arrangement, ten legally independent regional cooperatives own the central Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund in Zurich. Over time, this autonomy allowed regional heads to maintain independent marketing departments and administrative offices. These duplicate operations have created substantial cost disadvantages against competitors like Aldi, Lidl, and main domestic competitor Coop, which merged its own regional cooperatives into a single entity in 2001.

Voting requirements and legal hurdles

Executing the proposed organizational restructuring involves legal and procedural challenges under cooperative statutes. Under standard rules, approximately 2.3 million registered Migros cooperative members would need to vote in regional ballots, requiring a two-thirds majority in each region to pass. Company strategists are cautious after previous grassroots controversies, such as the contested ballot on alcohol sales. To prevent a failure at the ballot box, corporate planners are currently investigating legal avenues to implement the consolidation without conducting a full membership referendum.

Market pressures and strategic redirection

The organizational reform builds on a restructuring program that began in early 2024 with the sale or closure of eight unprofitable subsidiaries, including travel agency Hotelplan, home goods chain Micasa, and sporting goods brand Sport X. Chief Executive Irminger also created Migros Supermarkt AG to centralize procurement and supermarket operations across the regional cooperatives. The strategic shift aligns with the Vision 2035 program adopted by the retailer, which establishes structural efficiency as a core requirement.

We strive for efficiency and simplification in order to be sustainably competitive and successful.

Swiss retail competition has intensified as discount chains leverage international purchasing networks, while Coop threatens to overtake Migros in annual retail revenue during 2026. Consolidating the ten cooperatives would eliminate parallel administrative departments and could lead to workforce reductions. Company leadership faces added pressure to free up capital, as numerous aging supermarket locations require branch modernizations.