After more than seven years, City Cycles is closing its Zurich branch at Militärsträsse 106. The doors will close at the end of August and the City Cycle team led by Oliver Busato will concentrate on its business activities with the three branches in Bern.

UPDATE:
As Oliver Busato, Managing Director of City Cycles, explains, one of the first reasons for the branch closure was the asbestos building renovation in 2012. As a result, the store was literally cut off from the outside world, with customers even believing that the business had moved out.

Another reason given by Busato is the change in consumer behavior: "Today, many purchases are made online and - especially after the abolition of the euro floor - also abroad. For us, this has increasingly resulted in a shift from sales to a service business. The sales area and therefore the costs are simply too high for such a concept."

Busato also sees clear differences between the cities of Zurich and Bern in terms of bicycle traffic: "Looking back, it's amazing to see how different the market environment in Bern is from that in Zurich. Some clichés were also confirmed with surprising clarity: while civil servants and parliamentarians in Bern can easily ride their bikes to work and get around the city, this is usually out of the question for managers in Zurich. Until the planned investments in Zurich bear fruit and a cycling culture is created that suits the city, we are running out of breath. It's a shame really, but who knows what the future may bring."

From September, City Cycles will concentrate on the branches in Bern. The close cooperation between the specialist retailer and direct mail order company Simpel, which was completed in March 2014, will continue and Simpel will move to a new location.

www.citycycles.ch
www.simpel.ch