Unstaffed shop experiment seems to fail

(c) Valora

Unstaffed convenience shops – which opened to grand fanfare around two years ago, are closing – or putting in staff once again.

The reason, given by many of the retailers, is theft and vandalism. 

One press report tells the story of a woman who stole around CHF 300 worth from an unstaffed Migros on at least 4 occasions. She was caught and will have to pay CHF 10,000 in fines and costs. 

But seemingly, many others get away with it – and retailers are fed up with the losses. 

A Go24 store in Zurich lasted only 14 months before staff returned, another chain, Avec X, closed its stores after a few months. The company says it was due to ‘security related incidents.’

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play