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Bloomberg
The company that shook up Swiss watchmaking is looking to the fast-food industry for inspiration on how to spruce up retailing.
Swatch Group AG, the maker of $50 plastic timepieces, is setting up a drive-through store where it will sell products from its namesake label packed in burger boxes and brown paper bags. The shop, next to the company’s headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, is set to open in coming weeks, Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek said at the company’s annual general meeting.
While Swatch plans just one drive-through site in the out-of-the-way city for now, the move shows how the brand is trying to inject novelty into the buying process.
After years of insisting that customers prefer the boutique experience before splurging, Swiss watchmakers have been revamping retail networks as consumers increasingly search for and buy products online.
Companies have also been cutting out middlemen, focusing more on their own stores and keeping a bigger part of the profit for themselves.