Migros extends opening hours across 45 stores in Zurich

Swiss supermarket giant Migros is opening its doors earlier and closing them later across almost 50 stores in Zurich throughout October and November.

Opening hours at Migros changing in October and November

Since October 1, residents in Zurich have been enjoying longer opening hours at 24 Migros stores across the canton, reports Watson. An additional 21 branches will also change their opening hours on November 2.

Migros stores have started to either open earlier or close later, with the branch in Zurich Hauptbahnhof welcoming customers from 7am instead of 8am on Saturdays and Sundays, and closing at 10.30pm instead of 10pm every day.

Other stores that have already changed their opening hours in Zurich include Migros Kreuzplatz, Limmatplatz, Seebach, Dübendorf and Kloten. Branches set to join in November include Affoltern, Birmensdorf, HB Sihlquai, Richterswil and Schindellegi among others.

Migros battles with Coop amid concerns over staff welfare

The move by Migros comes as part of “its fight against Coop” to be the most popular supermarket in Switzerland. The two companies have long been competing over prices, locations and opening hours. Rival supermarkets including Aldi, Coop, Lidl and Spar have all been adjusting their operating hours recently.

Aside from increasing its competitive edge, Migros is aiming “to make shopping more flexible,” according to Nau, by giving consumers more time to head to the grocery store during a busy week.

Trade unions, on the other hand, have criticised the move. Nicole Niedermüller of Unia Zürich-Schaffhausen described the changing opening hours as “detrimental to the health of the employees” because they can “make it even more difficult to reconcile work and leisure time.”

Responding to concerns, Migros commented that “personnel deployment planning at the affected locations is carried out carefully and proactively. We will continue to place great importance on taking our employees' wishes regarding working hours into account whenever possible.”

Swiss law on shop opening times and working hours is quite strict, with national rules in place that prevent employees in retail from working between 11pm and 6am, and on Sundays except at train stations, airports and petrol stations.

Cantonal rules can differ, however, with Zurich, Aargau and Glarus being some of the places that don’t restrict shops any further. In Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zug, for example, cantonal law means stores cannot open past 7pm on weekdays.