Switcher: Revival of the Swiss clothing brand
Posted by on October 15, 2025Blick, 15.10.2025 / Milena Kälin - Images Philippe Rossier
"We want to open ten stores of our own"
Do you remember the Swiss clothing brand Switcher? The one with the yellow whale logo? Although the clothing brand went bankrupt in 2016, four years later a former employee - Marc Joss (49) - breathed new life into Switcher. And the new managing director has big plans.
"We're opening our first store in Winterthur ZH in December," Joss reveals in an interview with Blick. A second branch is due to open its doors in Rheinfelden AG next March. Clarifications are also underway in Geneva, St. Gallen and Lucerne. "We want to open ten of our own stores within two years," says the CEO.
The opening in Winterthur was not planned in this way - but the opportunity arose spontaneously. "You sometimes have to do projects like this under time pressure - otherwise you don't do it at all," says Joss. The spontaneous action also involves a certain amount of risk - "but that's part of it".
Start at zero
When Joss brought the brand back to life in 2020, he started from scratch. Nobody had been waiting for the revival of Switcher: "We couldn't take any more market share," says Joss. He had initially expected faster growth - but the coronavirus pandemic threw a spanner in the works. At the same time, retailers lacked confidence in the revived brand.
This year, Switcher has grown at an above-average rate. The company generates most of its turnover with its own web store. "Online retail has saved our company," says Joss. For two months now, the clothes have also been available on Zalando Switzerland - but Switcher takes care of shipping and returns itself. The products can also be found online at Digitec Galaxus or Brack.ch. The clothes are also available at around 50 retailers.
"In the medium term, we are aiming for sales of over 5 million francs," says Joss. Before the bankruptcy, turnover was 35 million. The CEO now wants to use the company's own stores to drive up sales in stationary retail: "Our target for the next two years is 40 percent." Currently, the stationary share of sales is around 15 percent.
With the opening, Joss is responding to a customer need: "People are increasingly going hybrid. They want to be able to order clothes online - but they also want to be able to try them on somewhere."
From T-shirts to plastic-free rain jackets
The range is made up of basics and seasonal collections. T-shirts like "Bob" have been around for 30 years, in 20 different colors and 8 different sizes. The winter collection also includes lined jackets - as well as the well-known onesie for cozy hours.
In December, Switcher is launching two new rain jackets - made in China. The country is world-famous for its fast fashion products. But the Switcher jackets are plastic-free and are produced as sustainably as possible. "I am a vehement opponent of cheap suppliers like Temu or Shein," says Joss.
Otherwise, the company, which is now based in Frick AG, produces exclusively in India. "It's a closed cycle - the cotton also comes from there," says Joss. The finished product is then shipped to Switzerland. Here in Switzerland, four permanent employees and four temporary workers take care of the goods. The team also includes two apprentices.
Switcher currently generates around 50 percent of its sales with business customers and customized workwear. However, Joss is not expecting any major growth there: "The market is extremely competitive." This is precisely why it is so important for him to have his own stores.
The CEO now has just under two months to go before the opening of his first store in Winterthur. Joss is confident: "At the moment, we're still a bit in the doldrums - but things are always moving faster than expected."
