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Last October, Manor gathered its business partners to introduce them to its new Men’s and Women’s fashion concept, unveiled in the newly refurbished Basel store and supported by a press release issued the same day. It was the first time that Manor conducted such an event, which reminded of what Boyner does to keep connected with its local suppliers and partners in Turkey./nbsp]

For Manor, an IADS member since 1968, it was, however, an excuse for a much more comprehensive update about every category, the company itself, and where the CEO, Roland Armbruster, sees it in the coming years. This is why the format took the shape of a keynote, modelled after tech companies, with Armbruster, CMO Sandra Kottenauer and CFO Thomas Stocklin, taking the stage solo one after another to discuss product strategy, omnichannel updates, belief in more stores, retail media, and enhanced cooperation with brands and suppliers. The session ended with a Q&A with the three top executives, moderated by Sandra Kanzig, Communications and Marketing Director.

The grand event was complete with a staged visit to the revamped Basel store, so the audience could discover the new ground floor (cosmetics, perfumes and accessories) and the first and second floors (men’s and women’s fashion).

In the aim to become Switzerland’s fashion destination, Manor goes lifestyle

As Manor seeks to solidify its role as a compelling brand within Switzerland's retail landscape, it emphasises fashion, a key driver of the retailer’s brand identity. Over the next three years, Manor will invest in refurbishing its top 12 stores’ fashion areas, i.e. 20,000 sqm (which account for over 50% of the company's turnover), to create a consistent, nationwide brand image, particularly through enhanced lighting concepts.

A critical aspect of this strategy involves clearer segmentation of Manor's fashion offerings, moving from a disorganised shopping experience to a well-defined lifestyle segmentation, focusing on classic, contemporary, and casual styles. This shift acknowledges the evolving nature of consumer preferences, where lifestyle takes precedence over age in fashion choices. To support this, Manor is introducing 20 new brands tailored to regional preferences, reflecting the diverse fashion tastes across Switzerland, sometimes in exclusivity (in Basel, American Vintage, Someday, Hugo, Michael Kors, Liu Jo, G-Lab or Ted Baker were not represented before). The accessories segment is also receiving significant attention, to offer consumers a complete lifestyle experience.

Manor's private label will align with these segments, ensuring coherence and appeal alongside premium international brands through astute in-store positioning. This strategic alignment extends into digital realms, where Manor is poised to take significant strides in retail media, leveraging digital assets to enhance brand communication and consumer engagement.

In the beauty sector, where Manor holds a strong market position, the focus remains on innovation and customer experience. Manor aims to maintain its leadership by continuously introducing new brands and services, particularly in emerging wellness and green beauty areas. Deeper collaborations with brands like Rituals and Sephora exemplify Manor's commitment to co-creating unique in-store experiences that cannot be replicated online, emphasising the value of personal service and exclusive offerings.

In the non-food categories, Manor is strategically refining its sports and toys offerings, focusing on key areas that align with customer interests. By concentrating on training and outdoor apparel instead of bulky items like skis, Manor adapts to the logistical realities of city centre locations. In toys, the opportunity lies in creating interactive, experience-driven spaces that serve as family-friendly destinations, enhancing in-store engagement and online growth.

The food sector remains a pivotal traffic driver for Manor's physical stores, distinguished by a market-like atmosphere offering personalised service and ultra-fresh, homemade products. This unique positioning helps attract a steady flow of customers, benefiting all store categories. Significant investments are planned for Manor's supermarkets and restaurants, particularly in major locations like Geneva, which will undergo refurbishments to enhance the food shopping experience further.

Marketing efforts are also being revamped, with a new centralized team and a fresh visual identity to deliver consistent brand expression across all channels. Manor is embracing a more modern, approachable aesthetic and plans to leverage brand ambassadors like Olympic champion Wendy Holdener to enhance local relevance and trust. Regarding technology, new investments in CRM have already bolstered customer acquisition by over 20% annually. Now, the focus shifts to customer activation, leveraging data to enhance basket sizes and customer engagement through targeted marketing based on purchase affinities. This approach is expected to double the value of CRM-linked customers.

Manor's strategic transformation: a call for enhanced partnership models

Manor is leveraging its unique market position to drive increased footfall in urban centres while enhancing brand value across physical and digital platforms. A 200+ million Swiss franc investment backs this strategic initiative to optimise its value proposition, including major store refurbishments in Basel and Lausanne (2024), followed by Lugano, Vevey, and Geneva (2025).

The strategy presents a compelling mutual benefit proposition: through co-investment, both Manor and its partners stand to maximise returns. While selective store closures are occurring in underperforming regions like Ticino, Manor's commitment to physical retail remains robust with over 50 locations maintained and enhanced. A cornerstone of this commitment is the planned 13,000 sqm flagship store in Zurich, set to open by 2027, featuring innovative concepts across fashion, home, beauty, and dining segments.

Manor also plans to invest in its sales teams, enhancing customer service skills and brand knowledge, provided partners play the game and decide to move in with new models (such as concessions) at Manor. This aligns with broader retail trends where transitioning from wholesale to concession models has shown a  25-30% sales increase. This is why Manor’s top brass tactically emphasised the importance of a collaborative approach, inviting partners to contribute meaningfully across three main pillars, offerings, story, and operations:

• Offerings improvement: ensuring premium product assortment in urban locations and digital platforms, primarily through concession models designed to optimise partner offerings,
• Brand storytelling: enhancing brand visibility across all touchpoints to strengthen consumer mindshare,
• Operational excellence: implementing seamless operations that showcase innovation while delivering powerful joint marketing messages through Manor's new Retail Media platform.

These collaborative initiatives are designed to maximise in-store and online opportunities for suppliers, streamlining the supply chain to enhance consumer-facing value. By ensuring high-quality products are delivered on time and optimising digital data exchanges, Manor aims to minimise time-to-store and reduce warehouse durations. This improves stock flow and accelerates product availability across all sales channels, leading to increased full-price sales and decreased discounts through shared inventory risk management.

Furthermore, they insisted that Manor is a solvent partner, facilitating sustainable investments in the retail sector. Unlike the market average payment period of 50 days, Manor has reduced this to just 25 days. Together with their parent company, Maus Frères, they have introduced a supplier financing option poised to enhance financial flexibility for partners further. That was also a way to kill the tenacious rumours that have spread for years suggesting that the company was for sale.

How is the Basel store delivering its promises?

The Basel location serves as a prototype for Manor's transformation under new artistic director Volker Kächele, who joined in February 2024. His 360° approach ensures brand consistency across all customer touchpoints—from store windows to digital platforms—creating a unified, customer-centric experience. Everything has been de-siloed: he also supervised the brand revamping, which is visible at the cash desks. The dynamic and relaxed seasonal campaign, displayed on kakemonos and in-store screens, also caught the eye.

Consequently, the first answer is yes, the promises are delivered. The new atmosphere is immediately felt when entering the store, thanks to the overall colours, the lighting, and how the new Manor brand identity is subtly present everywhere.

It also gives much more space for third-party brands to express themselves through 2 approaches:

• Either by maximising the visibility that concessions allow, as exemplified on the ground floor by the massive presence in entry-price jewellery given to  Phantasya, Pandora and Swarovski, or, in the cosmetics section, the hard-to-miss Sephora stand.
• Or through the work done with all furniture suppliers to rethink the display units, with lower, more accessible and perspective-friendly units that focus on products and brands.

Consequently, the gaze runs freely on all floors, and visitors feel that the space is clear, with visible and identifiable sections.

Some elements are thought out in detail and show to what extent Manor aims to be a place to visit and live, not only a place to purchase. For instance, the watch stand, operated with Hirsch, a watch strap manufacturer, is also a service point where customers can have their items revised, repaired, or customised. It also sells accessories, such as electric storage boxes for automatic watches, fully representing the watch universe.

Another point that caught the attention during the visit was the notion of partnership that Manor’s top management was calling for during the presentation. Some brands are already playing the game, such as Saint Laurent, which offers its “Vestiaire Olfactif” exclusive collection on the ground floor, in addition to the more commercial lines. For now, it is the only luxury brand to present its high-fragrance line, but it clearly shows the shift that Manor is making.

Finally, while Manor’s CMO tackled the topic without deep-dive into it, Manor’s private labels’ upgrade is also very visible now, not only through their increased coherence with the general store environment but also through astute zoning: for instance, Manor’s contemporary line is adjacent to Levi’s, while in sportswear, it is near Nike. The idea is clear: Manor’s private labels are not by-products or second thoughts but a desirable component of the store's offer.

Under Roland Armbruster's leadership, Manor is executing a rapid and comprehensive transformation that defies stereotypes about Swiss conservatism. The pace and scope of change demonstrate a bold vision for retail innovation, setting new standards in the Swiss market.

In the coming weeks, Manor will engage partners individually to explore transformation opportunities and review contributions. This means that the Basel and Lausanne renovations mark just the beginning of Manor's ambitious journey toward retail excellence, and more changes should be expected in every aspect of the business in the coming months and years. Stay tuned for news from Switzerland!

Credits: IADS (Selvane Mohandas du Ménil)