When it comes to underwear, Zimmerli is the only brand that still produces in Switzerland using the finest fabrics, laces and materials. What sets us apart is an absolute thirst for quality. Switzerland is famous for its quality level, which we are lucky to have a very long tradition of, and therefore an impressive knowledge in, producing undergarments – most of our employees have been with us for ten years or more.
As we have an almost 150-year history, we know our business inside and out. But how can we continue to look to the future? That is the difficult part. Because labour costs in Switzerland are quite high in comparison to other countries, our products have to feel different. We also have to support this nation and vision, which we do every day by making every effort to keep the manufacturing process here.
We always use natural fibres. Cotton is, of course, very important for us, but so too are animal fibres such as wool and silk. Cotton is not just cotton – there's a wide range of different grades and qualities. We always use the highest levels available. For instance, we are one of the only producers in our segment using the famous Sea Island cotton, which is very fine and with a touch like silk or cashmere. It's handpicked and is very precious, with extremely limited quantities available.
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An important part of our recent strategy was deciding to open boutiques, and we now have 20 boutiques and shop-in-shops around the world, and are adding five more every year. Bricks and mortar stores have been suffering over the last few years though, and digitalisation has been taking over more and more, so we have been looking for new ways to bring our brand and products to the customer. Instead of just having static boutiques, we have decided to launch our new Touchpoint concept, with our first in Zurich. Here we have a showroom in a smaller space where our brand ambassadors can show you through the collection, then when it comes to the buying process the showroom is linked to our e-commerce shop, so you can buy there and go home without the burden of carrying bags, with the product delivered to your home. This system means that you have immediate access to our entire global stock, with everything that we have there available to you.
Some lines in our basic collections have existed for decades, which is proof of just how good our products are. Of course, we always adapt slightly to changing expectations, so they're not in an identical form to decades ago, but the same concept has been redefined and refined over the years.
Popular styles include the Royal Classic series, which is a very thin shirt designed to be worn under a business shirt – Hugh Grant wears it. Our Richelieu shirt is extremely elastic and gives a wonderful shape to the body; you see it very often in Hollywood movies featuring well-built, trained heroes such as Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the X-Men films. It's been part of the collection for more than 50 years and is just one example of how our designs continue to appeal across generations.
MARCEL HOSSLI is the CEO of Zimmerli, which has been manufacturing high-end underwear in Switzerland since 1871; zimmerli.com
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