Group 50 years old

MPreis: a success story with an uncertain future

MPreis has received many awards for its architecture. In 2023, the company celebrated its first billion in sales.(Bild: Kathrin Auer)

The Tyrolean grocery chain MPreis is celebrating its 50th birthday. The foundation stone was laid back in 1920 by Therese Mölk. In the previous year, turnover broke one billion euros for the first time. However, branches outside Tyrol are being reviewed.

The foundation stone for today's Tyrolean grocery chain MPreis was laid exactly 124 years ago. "My great-grandmother Therese Mölk opened a general store in Innsbruck in 1920. At the beginning of the 1930s, the Mölk company was firmly established in the local food trade with eleven sales outlets and a wholesale bakery," says Managing Director and family member David Mölk, taking a look back in history.

The reason for the look back: MPreis in its current form is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The first supermarket was opened in Innsbruck's Andechsstraße in 1974. In the five decades that followed, the individual store grew into a sizeable group.

300 branches provide jobs for 6000 people
In 1989, the first "Baguette" opened in the provincial capital, and in 1992 the chain conquered Salzburg and Carinthia. Another milestone was the founding of the producer brand "Bio vom Berg" together with Tyrolean organic mountain farmers. Today, MPreis has around 300 branches in Austria and South Tyrol. The company employs around 6000 people. The company cooperates with 250 suppliers who fill the shelves with more than 1500 local products. The company is particularly proud to have broken the billion mark in sales for the first time in 2023.

"MPreis has always been a family business and will remain so," emphasizes David Mölk. As part of a "transformation process", the company is focusing on the core values of family, regionality and sustainability.

Managing Director David Mölk, Martina Dutzler and Ingo Panknin (from left).(Bild: Franz Oss)

Branches outside Tyrol put to the test
However, the 50th anniversary was not only marked with positive news. Branches outside of Tyrol are to be put to the test. Specifically, "eastern locations" and more distant branches are to be reviewed. For logistical reasons, among others, these could prove to be too uncompetitive. Of course, the company did not want to reveal which stores would be affected.

"What is clear is that our sector and our company are undergoing radical change," says Managing Director Martina Dutzler, who is responsible for finance, HR and infrastructure.

LH Anton Mattle praises "visionary employer"
Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP) also offered his personal congratulations on the milestone anniversary: "50 years of MPreis stands for five decades of regionality, local supply and security of supply. This anniversary is testimony to a visionary and responsible employer," congratulated the Governor.