Swiss Market Insight

As I write these words, here we are at the end of October, a period that is sadly historic as the hottest October since records began according to météosuisse. Of course, this makes you stop and think at a time when some people are turning on the coal-fired power stations for fear of electricity shortages, the summer has never seemed so long and the glaciers have certainly never melted so much. Zermatt had to cancel its World Cup ski race on October 30 due to a lack of snow in the finish area, which for information, is at an altitude of 2800m! Such abnormal weather conditions are really worrying, especially at our latitude. The late arrival of the rain, fog and cold might suit the boardies and flip flop brigade and although it is kind of pleasant, a large part of the population feel guilty about enjoying such comfort. Having said that, we make do with what we have and this extraordinary Indian summer has allowed summer’s outdoors and water sports enthusiasts to enjoy their favourite pastimes to the fullest before reaching for their winter gear or buying a new blanket to hibernate in until going out again in spring. If we look at consumption and visitation numbers in shops in Switzerland, the results are mixed. On one hand, the worryingly gloomy economic situation is being widely felt with a real drop in consumption, while on the other hand, the beautiful autumn has helped to make up for the often tricky summer for our retailers. This small boost from the weather made it possible to make space and a little turnover before the winter deliveries. This is the case for Yan Bosson of SB Sport in Gland, for whom the month of October was better than expected, enabling him to tackle the winter season with composure.

SWISS Julien Ayraud, Area Manager at Doodah in the French-speaking part of Switzerland has, PORTUGAL like many others, noticed that the skateboard SPAIN UK market has dropped off very sharply and that FRANCE there are now a lot of skateboards in stock, GERMANY whereas until recently they were selling like ITALY hotcakes. Streetwear and accessories sold very well, which means a positive result from the summer/autumn 2022. The delayed start of winter might coincide nicely with a slight delay to deliveries of winter equipment and although it is much less problematic than in previous seasons, most brands seem to deliver with a few weeks worth of delay, which is good news because we were still swimming in the lake at the end of October. And as Yan from SB Sport says, it’s better to be warm in October than to have 15 degrees in December. For the moment, apart from a few exceptions on certain products like some boots and outerwear, the rest seems to have arrived at just the right time to start the season on favourable footing. Economically, although purchasing power is falling and inflation is lurking, the situation in Switzerland is not (yet) as strained as in our neighbouring EU countries. For the moment, the signs are not that alarming, consumers are showing interest in winter equipment and the buying process does not seem to be compromised, but it does not take much for this to change. As explained in the previous article, the Euro is still weak against the Franc, which is not helping our retailers who are facing serious European competition on prices. Many Swiss shops are saying that they will not hesitate to lower prices from the very start if needs be. While 10% discounts used to be commonplace, even at the start of the season, this time we might see 20% all over the place and right away.