Oliver, please briefly introduce Jakob AG.

Our company essentially consists of three retail outlets. The principal outlet is the Jakob-Markt shopping centre, where you can buy everything from clothing and food to board games. We also have a garden centre, where you can find all kinds of gardening products and plants, alongside decorative items. Our third large outlet is Schuehparadies, covering over 1,000 m2 and selling everything to do with shoes. All these retail outlets are right next to each other in Zollbrück.

What’s special about your products and what do your customers particularly value?

The variety – the fact that you can find practically everything you need from us in Zollbrück in the heart of Emmental. We have an extremely wide range of clothing, stocking branded and non-branded products and plus-size clothes. We often receive positive feedback about our parking: we have a large, free car park in front of our building, something that is no longer available in many places.

Jakob AG has a long history as a traditional company. What does tradition mean to you and how do you preserve this in modern times?

Tradition is very important to us. We’re a family business and the third generation is currently managing Jakob-Markt. Wherever possible, we only employ trained staff who can provide excellent advice. Jakob AG is a traditional Swiss company founded in 1945. The family firm is based in Zollbrück (municipality of Lauperswil) in the heart of Emmental. Our mail order wool and craft supplies business was established in 1952. Our large, varied product range is unique in Switzerland. We have a great many long-serving employees. Yet we embrace innovation. We have a modern website and are extremely active on social media such as Instagram and Facebook. And we’ve recently also become heavily involved in the team sports sector. We advise clubs, associations and event organisers on team clothing, such as club trainers or supporter’s shirts.

What challenges are you currently facing in the industry?

Proving ourselves against online retailing. There are lots of such shops nowadays. But we aim to counter this trend. With us, you can physically try on clothes and get instant advice, for example. We make an exception for wool. We have an online wool shop whose items are shipped by Planzer. Another challenge is finding enough well-trained staff. The shortage of skilled workers is affecting our industry, too.

We’ve been delivering parcels for your shop since April 2024. What do you value about our partnership?

The excellent service in general. We really appreciate the fact that our items are collected from Zollbrück and usually delivered to customers the next day. It’s easy to contact Planzer, we know our account managers personally and have a great relationship with the company.