The “distribution machine”

Gottlieb Duttweiler was an ardent supporter of rationalisation. He called the Migros distribution centre, which was set up in 1931, the «distribution machine». This name was an allusion to the highly functional «Wohnmaschine (machine for living housing unit)» designed by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

In August 1931, Migros AG moves to its new headquarters at Limmatplatz in Zurich. It is just a stone's throw from the old headquarters on the other side of the approach to the Kornhaus bridge. Gottlieb Duttweiler converts the former textiles factory into the distribution centre he has long dreamed of. He calls it a “distribution machine”, a term based on the “living machine” that the architect Le Corbusier called his standardised housing units. In addition to a coffee roasting plant and a production facility for yoghurt and soap, he installs an ingenious bottling plant. Most of the goods packed here are delivered via rail as the distribution centre has its own rail sidings. In the large hall is the loading bay where a cleverly designed procedure allows the sales vans to be loaded in record time.
Duttweiler’s ideal concept of the modern distribution machine is also found in the “circulation of Migros”, a schematic presentation designed to explain the operating mechanisms of his company to a wide public. In 1932, the graphics are animated for an advertising film, which shows that Migros products are so cheap because their distribution is so tightly and efficiently organised.