E-commerce also affects high-end brands.
Two dark years for retail
2016
– In February, the clothing store chain Blackout, headquartered in Oensingen (SO), closes 11 of its 92 branches.
– In April, the Bata group, headquartered in Lausanne, closed its 29 shoe stores in Switzerland, a measure affecting 175 employees out of a total of 300.
– In May, the Lausanne District Court declared Switcher, the yellow whale clothing brand, bankrupt. Forty employees are laid off.
– In June, Migros reorganizes its furniture branch. The Micasa and Interio subsidiaries have centralized management and direction. Around twenty jobs are disappearing.
– In July, the Friborg chain of stores Happy Baby, specializing in the sale of baby products, went bankrupt. Fifty jobs are going down the drain.
2017
– In April, the Gruyère Court declared the Friborg Yendi group bankrupt. The 96 stores are closing their doors and 420 workstations are disappearing.
– In May, the Schwyz fashion group Charles Vögele, sold to the Italian company Sempione Retail, cuts staff. Around 160 positions are being cut in the logistics department at the Pfäffikon headquarters and in Freienbach in the canton of Schwyz. The group had already cut 50 jobs at the beginning of 2016 in Pfäffikon.
– In mid-May, the Migros group decided to redefine the strategic orientation of Globus towards the premium segment. At the same time, the major distributor announced the disappearance of 80 positions out of 400 at the Globus power plant in Spreitenbach (AG).
– In August, Manor cuts 200 jobs in Basel. In 2015, the group had already crossed out 139 posts.
Let’s hope that the series of dark years ends here…
Swiss e-commerce and foreign competition
Let’s not be surprised! In 2015, the Swiss spent 11 billion abroad; 43% of clothing, 22% of furniture and 21% of food expenditure goes to foreign players, of which Germany is the main beneficiary. Faced with e-commerce and the strong franc of recent years, shopping tourism is impacting the Swiss market. The strong digitalization of customers and the numerous online orders, foreign or not, are shifting the needs of Swiss companies into the digital environment or logistics. Worse, some cannot resist this new international competition. Although from a national perspective this observation is difficult, we are probably not the only ones who experience it. All markets are affected, however the Euro is perhaps weakening this trend.
In addition, consumer choice increases with e-commerce. Certain trends, in the field of fashion in particular but also in furniture, will be difficult to manage. Clothing has the particularity of being easier to transport. More choice in this sector and a large variation in price can easily influence the consumer. The strong franc contributes to shopping tourism. Digitalization is changing the needs of Swiss companies. But let's not forget that e-commerce allows you to shop 24/7. An opportunity for many small traders as well as large Swiss companies.
Emaloja encourages Swiss, French and international e-commerce through the creation of site, e-commerce site and Intranet e-shop. We ensure the entire logistics chain, digital and physical. All our digital interfaces are implemented with a warehouse management system (WMS). So you can track your orders and manage your stock from the same interface. Take advantage of the e-commerce opportunity and sell your products 24/7 at a lower cost!
An increasingly demanding market: the dark years!