The sale at the Migros Cooperative Association (MGB) continues: The Migros puts the top-selling shopping center in Switzerland, the Glattzentrum in Wallisellen, Zurich, for sale. The retailer announces this in a message. The reason: you want to focus on the core business – the real estate was not one of them. As Migros already announced in June, more should be invested in the convenience business with Migrolino branches and restaurants, as well as in digital sales channels and the health sector.
However, the sale of the Glatt is a strategic signal. “It is very surprising that Migros sells its pearls under the shopping center,” says Marcel Stoffel, founder and head of the Swiss Council of Shopping Places. He was director of the Glatt for many years. This has changed a lot in recent years. “Until a few years ago, Migros occupied more than half of the space with its own retail formats. This has changed massively through the sale or closure of the various companies such as Office World, Herren Globus, Schild, Depot and Interio. As a result, the synergies also decrease. »If Globus is also sold in the next few days or weeks, the starting position will change again, because Globus is an important part of the Migros concepts remaining in the Glatt region.
More than CHF 18 billion in equity
Among the ten most successful shopping centers in Switzerland, Glatt is at the top with sales of almost CHF 600 million and an area of 53,000 square meters. Location and connection to Zurich are good. According to market researcher GFK, the 197 Swiss shopping centers with around 19 percent of the total retail volume are an important pillar of the Swiss retail trade.
But the business is not as rosy as it used to be. The shopping centers clearly feel the online trade. Even the front-runner among shopping centers suffers: In the past eight years, the sales of the smooth center have shrunk by around 10 percent. And the opening of the Circle at Zurich Airport threatens to further intensify competition.
Migros decidedly denied that the smooth of Migros was allowed to flush an estimated 430 to 500 million francs extra into the till. “With more than CHF 18 billion in equity, Migros is in good health,” says Migros spokesman Marcel Schlatter. There is also no question of the fact that further center properties would come onto the market in the coming months. From industry circles you can hear that Migros and Coop have repeatedly put properties for sale in recent years.
Strategic difficulties
One thing is clear: Migros has to think about what it will do with its 42 shopping centers in the future and how much money it wants to or can invest in them. In a small group, CEO Fabrice Zumbrunnen also shows that people are looking for solutions for future uses, but have not yet found them. The market is changing – experts are currently discussing intensively how shopping centers will have to be set up in order to be successful. The so far unsuccessful, huge Mall of Switzerland in Ebikon, which opened in 2017, is a real memorial for the industry.
Another problem for Migros is that the shopping center properties after the sale of the Glattzentrum are booked exclusively in the regional cooperatives. As a result, they enjoy autonomy. Again, the construct with the 10 cooperatives becomes a strategic obstacle.
As the main tenant in the Glattzentrum, the Migros Cooperative in Zurich was able to decide in advance whether to buy the property. “This is not an option for us because we do not plan to expand our property portfolio,” said spokeswoman Gabriela Ursprung. It cannot be ruled out that the cooperative will separate from individual properties in the coming months or years.
Negotiations on the Glatt sale are only beginning, according to Migros. It is expected that the sales process will be completed this year.
Created: 01/31/2020, 10:17 PM
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