Store Check Junkie - COOP Switzerland

Store Check Junkie - COOP Switzerland

by Pamela Riemenschneider, Dec 07, 2016

Who else goes on vacation and drags their friends and family on store checks? I'm guilty, and I'm sure a fair number of you reading this are as well. The good news is I get to share my adventures with you.

On a recent trip through Europe, I stayed with friends in a village outside Zurich, Switzerland. I nagged my friend to take me to the supermarket. There were Aldi and Lidl stores nearby, but I wanted something with more of a “Swiss” feel, so she took me to the largest supermarket in her area, a Coop.

Coop is the dominant retail chain in Switzerland, with around 800 supermarkets. The store I visited was quite new, attached to a shopping mall in a Zurich suburb. It was bigger than I expected. I'd estimate total floor space at about 35,000 square feet, with produce at around 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. During my stay I saw an urban Coop as well; it was quite similar.

 

Overall look

Not surprisingly, Reusable Plastic Containers and Euro boxes made up 90% of the shelving and merchandising space. Fruit generally ran up one side of the department with vegetables along the other side. Large mirrors ran along the top of both sides, giving displays a more filled out and abundant look. Produce and cheese (also not surprising that a Swiss grocery had the biggest cheese section I've ever seen at a regular supermarket) made up the bulk of the center of the store.

There were some things I expected, like a large and varied selection of cabbage, rutabagas, leeks and carrots. This was a German-speaking area of Switzerland, so these made a lot of sense. There also were a lot of tray packs of apples. Most of the apples I've seen in Europe were tray packs.

 

Notables

The grape section was huge, with a lot of variety. Where the U.S. is going more toward high graphic zip-top pouches, many of these grapes were bulk or clamshells. There was a variety chart explaining flavor profiles — more like something you'd see in an apple section stateside.

“Ugly” produce promotions have their roots here in Europe, and this store had its own brand — Ünique — sold at a small discount. From what I saw, it was limited to some distressed fennel, funky-shaped carrots, scuffed potatoes and lemons. My friend says she's never bought it.

The snack size revolution is hitting Europe, too. This store had several options, mostly vegetables. They were labeled in English, and packed in cups with a dome top with a hole for dispensing tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers or mini seedless bell peppers.

Value-added was a modest section, with some of the same thing we see in the U.S. like diced onions, carrot/squash “noodles” and bagged salads. There were a lot more microgreens, however, and blends like Bolognese mix and Thai wok kits. There also was a wide array of sauces for stir fry.

I was there in late October, when the U.S. avocado market was outrageous. The avocados I saw at Coop were reasonably priced, the equivalent of $1.50 each for what looked like 40s or 36s. They were not merchandised as ripe or ready-to-eat, but there were multiple displays. Frankly, I was surprised to see so many avocados.

I also saw quite a few “Know Your Farmer” type displays, with photos of growers and profiles. My German is limited, so I wasn't able to read all of it, but the message looked very similar. It was comforting to see the same type of merchandising outside of the U.S.

 

What's missing?

There were very few berries, a category that has become a powerhouse in the U.S. year-round. The strawberries available were tiny, in very small packages and were grown in Belgium. We bought some and they had no flavor, so that could explain things. They did have a multi-pack with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, 300 grams for about $8. I also saw U.S.-grown cranberries.

As far as I could tell, there were no misting systems installed on what would normally be the wet rack. I thought that was interesting.

There also was virtually no branded produce, and what I did see was the Coop house brand. More surprisingly, none of it was marketed to kids.

 

Want to see photos from my trip? Click below or visit Flickr.com/ProduceRetailer.

COOP

 









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