Eataly cancels market entry in Switzerland
According to a report in the "Handelszeitung", the Italian gastronomy and retail concept Eataly is not pursuing its expansion plans in Switzerland. A location in Lausanne's Le Flon district was planned.
In November 2015, it was announced at Mapic in Cannes that Eataly had chosen the Flon district in Lausanne for its market entry in Switzerland. The owner of the quarter, the real estate company Mobimo, announced at the time that an agreement had been signed with Eataly for the lease of several thousand square meters in Le Flon. The opening of the Eataly location should take place in 2019 at the latest, after a reconstruction of the commercial space.
Now reports the Handelszeitung, that Eataly has canceled its entry into the Swiss market. The company told the newspaper that it currently has no expansion plan for Switzerland.
According to the statement, the planned conversion of the building in question has been delayed, mainly for structural reasons and because of a dispute with the Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Mobimo has also confirmed that it is no longer pursuing the Eataly project.
Eataly also formed a joint venture with Signa Retail several years ago to develop new locations in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland. According to Handelszeitung a site on Europaallee in Zurich was also planned, but this did not materialize. There are currently no projects in the pipeline for Switzerland. (ah)
