Empty shelves Migros spokesperson: "The current uncertainty is causing hoarding"
No eggs, no flavoring, no toilet paper: since the Covid-19 pandemic, customers have repeatedly been faced with empty shelves in Migros stores. What's behind this? blue News asked the supermarket chain.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Since the Covid-19 pandemic, customers in Migros stores have increasingly been faced with empty shelves.
- Instead, the wholesaler is posting signs saying: "Unfortunately, this item is currently not available. We are in negotiations with the supplier."
- According to Migros media spokesperson Tobias Ochsenbein, "several other crises have affected the global supply situation" since the Covid-19 pandemic.
- "In addition, the current uncertainty is leading to hoarding and increased demand for container and transport capacities," Migros continues.
There are always large gaps on the shelves in Migros stores: Popular drinks are missing, figs are occasionally not on offer and there are currently delivery problems with eggs.
Instead, signs explain: "Unfortunately, this item is currently not available. We are in negotiations with the supplier. We apologize for the inconvenience."
The situation doesn't just affect individual stores; since the Covid-19 pandemic, Migros has been repeatedly missing products nationwide. Other retailers are also affected, but as a Migros customer, I know the shortages in my store in detail.
Last week, when I went shopping in "my" Migros store, where I have been doing my Saturday shopping for almost 20 years, the shelves where cashew nuts and figs are usually sold were empty once again.
When I asked why there had been no cashew nuts or figs on offer for three weeks and whether I should come back later in the day, the sales clerk replied:
"I don't know if the rack will be restocked today - unfortunately a lot of products are currently out of stock."
No eggs, no flavoring, no toilet paper: since the Covid-19 pandemic, customers have repeatedly been faced with empty shelves in Migros stores. What's behind this? I asked the wholesaler - and got the following answers from Migros media spokesperson Tobias Ochsenbein:
Mr. Ochsenbein, is my personal impression correct that there have been more frequent supply bottlenecks in Migros stores since the Covid-19 pandemic?
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, several other crises have overlapped and affected the global supply situation. The most significant challenges include the ongoing after-effects of the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in the Red Sea with the closed Suez Canal and attacks by the Houthi rebels, as well as rising inflation.
In addition, the current uncertainty about possible new taxes, for example from the USA, is causing hamster purchases and increased demand for container and transport capacities. Pandemics affecting livestock, such as avian flu, are also having an impact on supply.
All these factors are leading to a shortage of raw materials, packaging materials and production capacity at our suppliers and are contributing to an overall reduction in the availability of goods.
Is it true that price wars with various manufacturers have recently led to products such as Aromat and Kellogg's Corn Flakes being difficult or often impossible to buy in Migros?
It can happen that negotiations with suppliers lead to temporary shortages of certain products. However, this is not specific to Migros and can happen in the entire sector.
Over the last few weeks, I've noticed several times while shopping on Saturdays that dried figs and cashew nuts are often missing from the shelves in my Migros store. Is that true?
We haven't had any shortages of cashew nuts in recent months. In contrast, the last fig harvest was challenging, which meant that we occasionally had to reject batches of raw goods due to insufficient quality.
This had a temporary impact on the availability of some seasonal products. However, our annual products, Smyrna figs 500 grams and organic figs 400 grams, were not affected by these shortages and could be offered as usual.
Is my impressioncorrect that larger Migros stores are currently being supplied with more products - i.e. the shelves in smaller stores are currently empty more often?
This impression is misleading. We always strive to supply all our stores evenly and reliably, regardless of their size.
It is often claimed that certain supply bottlenecks at Migros have to do with stock levels that have been greatly reduced in recent years for cost reasons - is this true or not?
This is not correct. In the retail sector, supply chains are organized in a lean way to ensure maximum freshness and an optimal shopping experience.
Which products from the Migros range are currently specifically affected by a supply shortage - and marked on the shelves with the sign "This item is currently not available"?
The shortage affects conventional Swiss free-range eggs in particular. The availability of Swiss organic eggs can currently still be guaranteed, but the situation may change.
On the shelves at the moment it says "Due to the shortage of Swiss free-range eggs throughout Switzerland, it is unfortunately possible that individual items may not be available at short notice."
Are there any days of the week when the supply bottlenecks are less significant?
No. We strive every day to keep the availability of goods constant in all our stores.
What measures is Migros planning to prevent supply bottlenecks in future, or at least to be able to cushion them better?
Various reasons can lead to empty shelves, including shortages of raw materials, strongly fluctuating seasonal demand and problems with delivery and quality on the part of our suppliers.
Migros adapts its measures depending on the situation. In the case of the current egg shortage in Switzerland, for example, more eggs are being sourced from abroad.
