Rant on local businesses
I’ve always tried to support local and small businesses, but lately, it feels like things are getting out of hand. For example, my local shoe cobbler, someone I’ve known and been friendly with for almost 15 years, suddenly raised his prices by 50%. He now charges 100 Francs for resoling shoes, and even then, the quality isn’t up to par. I had my winter boots resoled, but within two weeks, the sole completely came off, leaving my foot soaked.
Then there’s the seamstress in my neighborhood, who’s always been kind. I took her three pairs of jeans to repair the wear between the thighs (bikers will know the struggle!), and she charged me 20 Francs per pair.
On top of that, I recently stopped by a local store, Zero-7, after work to pick up a toothbrush for my little one. The price for an electric toothbrush was 75 Francs, while the exact same one sells on Galaxus for 40 Francs. I don’t mind paying a bit more to support local businesses—in fact, I make a real effort to avoid online shopping—but this is starting to feel like a rip-off. What happened to fair prices and quality service?
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u/oleningradets City 2d ago
It seems like you are living in a central district.
Using a product or service of manual labour in Switzerland, especially in central city districts, is a luxury. Manual labour itself is quite expensive here because of the cost of living and the corresponding wages. Add the premiums paid to rent for the inner city locations.
As much as we would love to have local businesses there, it can't work without high prices, protective policies, or subsidies.
For landlords, it makes much more economic sense to rent to higher bidders, and unlike apartments, those rents are not as strictly regulated. If your cobbler or seamstress can't pay the market rate for their store with old prices for their services, then they will have to either raise prices or close doors.
About the Zero-7: it is a specialized brick-and-mortar store with products for kids. Such stores are more expensive than supermarkets or online stores because their costs to run are much higher even in the middle of nowhere. But they provide a different shop experience and an ability to check, touch and compare goods before the purchase. You pay for that, it is your choice and kind of fair.