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shopping in switzerland

poorsod

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I am flying into Geneva next month and then going to a conference in Basel. Any in particular to check out at those places?

I may not have time to make it to Zurich where I understand you can Vass at Brogues and more and St. Crispins has a retailer there.
 

lakewolf

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Originally Posted by poorsod
I am flying into Geneva next month and then going to a conference in Basel. Any in particular to check out at those places?

I may not have time to make it to Zurich where I understand you can Vass at Brogues and more and St. Crispins has a retailer there.


A little late dear poorsod... sales period ended last friday !

I'll check out if there is some place to find Vass here in Geneva... there is a JM Weston shop in the centre....
 

lakewolf

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I just passed through to see, but the sale period is really ended....
 

poorsod

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Thanks for the help. I am from NYC and I am trying to look for stores which may not be well represented in the U.S. Any other stores in Geneva you'd recommend?
 

Joffrey

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When I stayed overnight there last summer I saw a Lanvin Store that me and my buddy wanted to check out. Im not sure if it had Men's items though. Also (shoot I forget the name) there is this strip that is pretty packed with stores (the street with the FNAC) you may want to check that out - the Lanvin store is right off of it. I wish I knew of some interesting boutiques but I wasnt there long enough. Have fun, its a great city I would love to move to
 

hermes

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the lanvin store did indeed have men's items but was having a going out of business sale in may and june when i was in geneva last; it was pretty picked over then given it was something like 70-90% off everything so i'm assuming it's likely gone by now

south of the rhone river, the rue de la confederation and rue du rhone area is one of the main shoppping areas (rue du rhone has car traffic and is lined with vuitton, chanel, gucci, hermes and the like (and patek philippe but their building is still under renovation for over two years now) and rue de la confederation is pedestrian only)

lanvin was on rue du rhone

on rue de la confederation, there is a niche department store called bon genie which has a nice selection of upper end brands from brioni to etro to prada to john lobb shoes - they also sell mizensir candles which are geneva made, rival diptyque in scent and quality and make a nice gift for someone let along yourself - you can also find zimmerli underwear there

across the street is another department store, globus, that has a great food hall but also has a good selection of undergarments from schiesser to zimmerli to calida and the like - the rest of the clothing selection is unremarkable

there is a niche store off this street called septieme etage at 10 rue de perron

across from the temporary patek philippe store is a greek silversmith call ilias lalaounis which offers some very nice and affordable men's cufflinks (i know the street but can't think of the name ..... )

north of rue de la confederation is a street called rue de la corraterie that ends at place neuve and there is a nice small men's shop along the western side of the street which i believe is called 'esquire shop' or something like that

on the north side of the rhone river, there is a nice men's and women's shop called drake shop, on rue des alpes, which has a mix of everything from dior homme and d&g to zegna last time i was there

also behind the bergues hotel (recently rebranded as four seasons hotel this year), there is a little covered walkway with stores in it and there is a nice men's shirt store, i don't recall the name despite walking past it for years now, but has upper end items and if memory serves me right, borrelli and lorenzini, perhaps kiton as well but kiton used to be sold at bon genie but may no longer be offered there

both coop and manor department stores (manor is southwest of the train station) are good shops for chocolate purchases; rohr is also a good chocolatier for niche upper end purchases

if you have time, take the tram to carouge and walk around there as there are lots of niche shops to browse at there as well
 

poorsod

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Gee thanks for all the info. Any recs for Basel?
 

rajesh06

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Originally Posted by poorsod
Gee thanks for all the info. Any recs for Basel?

Keep in mind that you may have difficulty finding time to shop around your conference given the limited hours than most Swiss stores remain open.
 

poorsod

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Originally Posted by rajesh06
Keep in mind that you may have difficulty finding time to shop around your conference given the limited hours than most Swiss stores remain open.

I'm not going to Switzerland to be stuck in scientific sessions every hour of everyday.
lookaround.gif
 

lakewolf

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In Switzerland stores are open from 9am to 18:45, some stores closes at 18:00 on Thursdays they open until 19:30, and on saturdays until 18:00
 

lionel

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Originally Posted by poorsod
Gee thanks for all the info. Any recs for Basel?

In Basel you have to visit "Kohler Herrenmode" on the Freie Strasse. The store carries a little but nice selection of EG and C&J (both bench- and handgrades). The EG cost CHF 1000.- (815 dollars).

Then go down the street and buy some very nice OTC socks at Monn. At USD 12.00 the pair they are a real bargain. They stock some nice colours.
 

rajesh06

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Originally Posted by lakewolf
In Switzerland stores are open from 9am to 18:45, some stores closes at 18:00 on Thursdays they open until 19:30, and on saturdays until 18:00


I spent three weeks doing some consuting work in the suburbs of Zurich about 10 years ago. I would typically work untill about 17:30 - so by the time I returned to my apartment it was very difficult to find time to shop.
 

lakewolf

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The customer is allways right in Switzerland.. the shops will take product returns with no questions asked in any shop, and we have sales periods with big discounts ( up to 80% off ). We have a several discount houses of Italian clothes ( they sell discounted medium to high quality Italian clothes and shoes the year long )

Switzerland has very strict protection laws for the worker's rights.. The shops, restaurants and discos can't open past the established by law openning hours. this to protect the workers, so they don't get abused by the employers. The labor hours and payment are regulated by law. So is the sales periods and how much can a shop discount in those periods, again to protect the market and the other shops without economies of scale....

Yes here we have the perfect capitalists/socialist mix... you get most of the capitalist system benefits without loosing any social security/health care/unemployment/unfair competition protection

On the other side... it could get boring sometimes.... the shops open in the hours you are working, the restaurants only serve you food between 11am and 2pm and 8pm-11pm... the bars close at 2am and the discos at 5am...

Fortunately I live in Geneva, the international city that is like a micro-manhattan, I live two blocks from the lake so I have the micro-mediterraean summer life there, and the mountains are at half an hour by car, so I have the ski ressort around the corner... lots of open air festivities from the 5 continents during the summer... every week parties from around the world during the winter... a shopping area with all the big designer houses... la dolce vita à la Suisse !

No wonder most International Companies and European Headquarters are based in Geneva, because this International life that pleases high ranking managers and entrepreneurs for all over the world, and also atracts worker inmigration from all around the globe.
 

lakewolf

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Originally Posted by poorsod
Thanks for the help. I am from NYC and I am trying to look for stores which may not be well represented in the U.S. Any other stores in Geneva you'd recommend?

The best shops are around midtown, la rue du rhône, you'd find Dior,Gucci,Armani,Zegna,Ferre,Brioni,JM Weston, NavyBoot, Bon Genie, PKZ, Drake Store, Globus etc...

There is a chain of Italian clothes discount ( mid-range - high ) called "Le mouton à 5 pattes" there are 5 stores in the city 1 high level 3 medium and 2 low level... you could find brionis, dolce&gabanna, versace,valentino at discounted prices...

send a message when you are here and I'd gladly show you the places.
 

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