The history of MPREIS supermarkets begins with a small second-hand shop in Innsbruck, opened in 1919 by Theresa Mölk. A couple of years later, she opens a shop specializing in the sale of lard, and a little later she buys a military bakery in the city center and creates a bakery from it with a store selling bakery products under the brand name Bread Mölk. The number of branches is gradually growing, and in 1974, the first MPREIS supermarket with a modern design and "competitive" prices, a project of Teresa's descendants, began operating in the same Innsbruck.
MPREIS today is a 100% family business, growing to 228 stores in the Austrian province of Tyrol, Italy's South Tyrol (or Alto Adige), Salzburg and Carinthia. And this is a very special network in all respects. Of course, 228 supermarkets have one thing in common: everyone has a red cube with a white company logo on the facade, they are all built of ecological, natural materials, they all not only meet high energy efficiency requirements and consume a minimum amount of energy, but, moreover, they produce her, they all use products from local suppliers.
But there is also a significant difference between the stores from each other - their architectural design. It all started when a friend of the Mölk family, architect Heinz Planatscher, offered to make a supermarket project for them in a friendly way. Since then, every MPREIS store has its own architect. Basically, preference is given to local architects, for example, Peter Lorenz or Rainer Köberl, but there are exceptions - for example, the architectural "star" Dominique Perrault. The Mölk family explains this approach as follows: “They [stores] don't have to be all the same. Each of them must be unique and designed for the place in which it is located. The visual impact of the supermarket on the surrounding landscape should be minimal.”
For the owners of MPREIS, in addition to the economic benefits, the social component of their project is of primary importance, because they are from Tyrol, they love their region with all their hearts and are proud of it: “We are a Tyrolean family and we all grew up in these mountains and are attached to them. It is important for us to be responsible for our land. So it should probably come as no surprise that MPREIS currently employs 5,400 employees and is the second largest private employer in Europe. The assortment of each of the chain's stores includes more than 1200 varieties of Tyrolean products from more than 150 local producers. It should also be mentioned that the company currently also owns two factories supplying meat and fresh baked goods to their network.
But let's get back to what makes MPREIS a very special brand compared to other supermarkets - their architecture. This is especially unusual because, as a rule, chain trading companies try to apply a corporate identity in all their stores, and it does not matter at all where these stores are located - in Moscow or Tokyo. In this case, the maximum that can be hoped for is that such a supermarket will not disfigure the environment where it appeared.
It is important to emphasize that MPREIS cannot be categorized as luxury in any way. This network, of course, does not belong to the economy class, but is entirely located in the middle price segment. That is why I am very impressed with their approach to work: they try with minimal means, economically, but very stylishly, to create comfortable spaces with high ceilings, wide aisles and a very attractive exterior. This is driven not only by concern for customers and employees, but also by considerations of “sustainability”. According to the Mölk family, if their supermarkets are closed, their buildings as high-quality architectural objects can not be demolished, but can be easily transformed into a school, kindergarten, local cultural center or art gallery. Considering that the sales area of a typical store is 600 m2, and there are two more Super-MPREIS measuring 800-1000 m2, then such foresight regarding the possible reuse of buildings seems quite logical.
The Mölk family, of course, sets a certain direction for architects in developing a solution: they want to preserve and emphasize their Alpine roots. That is why a lot of wood, textured concrete, natural stone are used in all supermarkets, and there are always large windows that “let in” nature inside. The colors of the materials are fairly neutral, as, from the point of view of the creators of the brand, customers and products on the shelves provide enough brightness in the interior. Caring for nature, as mentioned above, is determined by the fact that each of the stores generates a certain amount of energy, and part of the roof is completely covered with solar panels. As a result, the chain's supermarkets have been repeatedly awarded certificates as the most energy efficient in the country.
Austria highly appreciates the architecture of MPREIS and even presented the Tyrolean network at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2004, and for Austrian architects it has long been honorable to receive an order for a new store project. And in every yearbook of the best Austrian architecture one or two MPREIS shops can be found as examples of the most beautiful, functional and contextual buildings.
MPREIS is a story: about family, about architecture, about caring, about people, about local products and about Tyrol, where it all began, continues and where this story definitely has a happy future.
