The owners of the Jelmoli department store in Zurich have announced that it will be ceasing operations in 2024. The iconic building in the heart of the Swiss city will now be converted into smaller shops and offices.
According to a statement given to 20 Minuten, Swiss Prime Site, the owner of the building, said that it will be closing Jelmoli at the end of 2024. The international company confirmed that despite a long search, they still couldn't find an entrepreneur that wanted to take over the operational side of the business.
Jelmoli had originally moved to the site in 1898. The building was designed to resemble a “glass palace” like the department stores of Paris and London and became a huge hit with Swiss shoppers. It was also one of the first stores in Switzerland to implement a fixed pricing system where prices were posted not negotiated.
However, with the decline in retail shopping in the 21st century, and with its huge central location costing more and more, the business decided that it could not continue trading. The announcement follows the departure of Manor, a similarly large and famous department store nearby, which announced its closure in late 2020.
Much like Manor’s central Zurich site, starting in 2025, the upper floors of Jelmoli will be converted into offices for workers, while the ground floor will be reserved for a number of retail stores - at a renovation cost of 100 million Swiss francs. Swiss Prime Site confirmed that while the department store will go, the fitness centre and beauty clinics will remain.
According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 550 Jelmoli workers and 300 staff from other brands will lose their jobs, although Swiss Prime Site hopes the forewarning will give store employees enough time to find new jobs. The newly designed site will open to the public in early 2027, with the company still promising that “Jelmoli house will remain one of the largest and most attractive shopping destinations on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse in the future."
Image: Shutterstock.com / Emilija Miljkovic