Globus opens a new chapter in its history
Published: Monday, Sep 30th 2024, 12:50
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For more than 100 years, Globus has been one of the epitomes of department stores in Switzerland. The complete takeover by the Thai Central Group marks the beginning of a new era.
Globus was founded in 1907 as "Magazine zum Globus", a name it still officially bears today. In the interwar period and also after the Second World War, new stores were opened and the company expanded into other Swiss cities. The good post-war economy and the emerging consumer society also helped.
The blue Globi parrot was also brought to life for the 25th anniversary. The first Globi book was published in 1944. Since then, numerous books have followed, which are now an integral part of Swiss popular culture and a must in every child's bedroom.
Gradual decline
After the boom, management mistakes became more frequent. For example, the purchase of the low-price department store Au Bon Marché (ABM) in 1956 was initially intended to diversify the business. In the long term, however, the investment proved to be a mortgage.
Despite numerous restructuring measures, ABM made heavy losses in the 1990s. The ABM chain was finally closed down in 2001. Even reorganization and realignment did not bring success.
In 1997, the owner family finally sold their shares to Migros for around 700 million francs. Ten years later, Globus was spun off as an independent business unit. At the same time, Migros also sold the Globi publishing house to Orell Füssli.
The online business was launched in 2014, which was comparatively late. Nevertheless, the entire Globus range has been available online since 2016.
Rescuers from Thailand and Austria
In 2019, the then Migros CEO Fabrice Zumbrunnen finally drew a line under the engagement, which was not very profitable for the retailer. Migros finally found two buyers in the Central Group and the Signa Group of Austrian investor René Benko.
Central and Signa each shared half of the shares in the company. Together, they wanted to modernize the department stores and reposition the company.
The next turning point came just a few years later. With the sudden bankruptcy of Signa, Globus was also caught up in the maelstrom. However, the Central Group stuck to its commitment and finally bought the department store business from Benko.
Globus is now part of a multinational group that operates numerous luxury department stores not only in Thailand but also in Europe. These include the Italian department store chain La Rinascente, the Danish luxury department store Illum and KaDeWe in Germany.
To date, the Central Group has proven itself to be a long-term investor in all of these commitments and has always emphasized this for its Globus commitment.
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