In Switzerland it is possible to order goods online without paying up front. Retailers will send orders with a payment slip included with the goods. Fraudsters are exploiting this quirk of Swiss postal retail. Fraudsters order goods online pretending to be someone else. The goods are then shipped without the need to provide any payment […]
Swiss retail sales up in 2020 despite pandemic
Despite on and off closures of Swiss retailers last year, total 2020 retail sales figures rose by 0.1% compared to 2019. Switzerland’s backdrop of negative inflation, meant real total year-on-year retail sales rose by 0.8%. However, headline sales numbers masks significant variations by retail sector. While e-commerce (+14.1%), sales of technology (+13.8%) and food, drink […]
Here’s something 250% more expensive in Switzerland
For those British expats in Switzerland that haven’t been able to make the transition from Weetabix to Bircher muesli, buying your favourite brand of cereal across the boarder just got even cheaper after the Swiss National Bank scrapped the CHF-EUR exchange rate cap. Some price differences just leave you scratching your head. This is one […]
Christmas gifts for one and all
Santa Claus is coming to town, but what should you put on your wish list? And, more importantly, what should you get for her, for him and of course for the little ones, who are impatient to see what they will find in their oversized stockings fixed precariously above the fireplace? More often than not, […]
Manor in Chavannes reopens
After spending CHF 15 million on the refit of one of its key stores, Manor Chavannes reopens on 20 November. The main renovations and changes include the modernisation of and upgrade of all the departments “to reflect latest concepts”; a significant enlargement of the shop’s already pretty impressive food hall (as well as the enlargement […]
Coloured gems smash records at Geneva auctions
Rubies. Sapphires. Diamonds. Pearls. It seems as though a new record was set every time the gavel came down at Geneva-based auctions held earlier this week by Christie’s and Sotheby’s. At the Christie’s auction, 346 items were sold on Tuesday for a total of CHF 147.2 million, a sum exceeding that of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewel […]
Apple takes aim at Swiss watch industry
Apple, the US-based technology company, has predictably tried and to a degree succeeded in getting a rise from the Swiss media by claiming that its latest device, a digital watch, will cause the demise of the Swiss watch industry. The campaign disingeniously ignores the truism that a wristwatch is worn for far more than just […]
