King car

The economic miracle afforded the Swiss greater mobility. Migros responded to the societal shift towards automotive travel with new products and also more parking spots, as customers increasingly drove to do their shopping. The economic miracle changes the Swiss people’s living habits. They become more mobile, and an increasing number are able to afford a car. Migros reacts to these changes with many different innovations. It offers, among other things, care products for cars and for car washes and in 1969 launches the Miocar brand. The Club School adds reasonably priced driving lessons – theory and practice – to its programme, and the do-it-yourself centre offers mechanics courses for amateurs.

Much more important, however, is that the car changes shopping habits. Above all, the customers do a big shop on Saturday almost exclusively with their cars and Migros has to adapt accordingly. The Brückenbauer proudly announces a new innovation in 1965, under the title ”Shopping without fear of fines”: The first Migros ”car shop“ in Schlieren, which has an impressive 200 above-ground and underground car parking spaces. On Saturdays, a ”traffic control service“ ensured that customers could ”smoothly drive in and out“: ”Equipped with walkie-talkies, the attendants direct the motorists to the parking spaces.” In the same article, the next stage in the movement towards the motorised society is announced: Shopping centres ”outside the cities”, which Migros is already instrumentally involved in planning.