Built on historic grounds

With this latest re-opening, the Swiss DIY store operator Jumbo has returned to its roots: Here in Bachenbülach, in the Zurich Unterland, is the site where the Swiss DIY retailer opened its very first store back in 1982. Now one could say the site, modernised in 2000, has been upgraded once again with a new building on historic grounds.
The former 4 200 m² has now been expanded to around 6 000 m² and the number of products has risen by more than 25 000 to 65 000 - the first Jumbo, the role model for all future branches has grown to a Jumbo Maximo, the chain's superstore retail format.
"2016 is a very dynamic year for us", reports CEO Jérôme Gilg. The headquarters (and of course, the employees on site) had a lot to do: parallel to the Bachenbülach store, the store in Montagny-Yverdon was also modernised - by the by, also one of the oldest locations and likewise after expansion, has grown from 4 500 m² to a 7 000 m² Maximo store. From the 42 branches, eleven of them belong to the superstore category, the twelfth follows in September in Arbon at Lake Constance. At the same time, the headquarters are preparing for their long-overdue launch into online retailing, planned for next year. 
Jumbo is accordingly investing in this dynamism. A sum of CHF 30 mio was mobilised for Bachenbülach, which became an interim store for a period of 18 months while the new shopping mall was being built.
When all is said and done -  the new look location is not just a DIY store. A branch of the department store chain Manor will move into the 3 000 m² space on the top floor in September. Like Jumbo, this chain also belongs to the business group Maus Frères. Alongside the main range of fashion articles, it also offers a range of sports goods, toys and wine. With an annual revenue of around CHF 2.3 bn, Manor is the biggest department store chain in Switzerland. Two similar sites combined with Jumbo DIY stores already exist.

The new Maximo, located at the historical site in Bachenbülach - also owned by the company - is more of a small scale Maximo, as these formats normally span around 7 000 m². This is particularly noticeable in the garden department area, which the company agrees, is rather too small with its 1 300 m². "It's a compact Maximo", in the words of Gilg.
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