Repositionning of the Jelmoli building in Zurich

Jelmoli, the premium department store in Zurich, Switzerland, has been part of the Swiss Prime Site group since 2009. Due to the change in consumer behavior and the rise of e-commerce, in-store retail is under pressure which also impacted the profitability of Jelmoli. The Board of Directors and Executive Board of the group decided to redevelop the building over two years and plan to re-open its door by the beginning of 2027.

«By redeveloping the building, we will be adapting it to the market demand», announced René Zahnd, the CEO of Swiss Prime Site, «That includes having not just an attractive mix of types of use and spaces, but also flexibility and a multi-tenant approach. Our aim is to redevelop the Jelmoli building so that it becomes a unique destination and an open meeting place in the city centre.» It is planned to add new features to the building. The lower level will remain a retail space of around 10,000 square meters surface. Jelmoli will welcome high-end offices and public services such as fitness and restaurants on the upper floor.

The group carried out an in-depth market study to transfer the department store's operations to the outside world. However, no suitable partners were found after extensive discussions. Therefore, Swiss Prime Site decided to adjust the Jelmoli department store to the new market circumstances from the end of 2024. The group plans to invest more than CHF 100 million in the redevelopment project. The re-opening of the fully refurbished property is scheduled for the beginning of 2027 with a new positioning on the market and will no longer be operated by Swiss Prime Site.

Nina Müller, the current CEO of Jelmoli, decided to hand over the department store to Reto Braegger, the current Chief Merchandise Officer, by the end of June 2023 at the latest.

The Jelmoli building transformation project had a negative one-off impact of around CHF 34 million on Swiss Prime Site's income statement for the 2022 financial year.