After 143 years: the traditional company Franz Carl Weber is slowly disappearing for good

Franz Carl Weber, the traditional toy brand, is closing its branch on Zurich’s Bahnhofplatz. With the conversion into a Müller drugstore, a chapter of Swiss retail history ends.

The traditional Swiss toy brand Franz Carl Weber (FCW) is facing its final demise. After the takeover by the German drugstore chain Müller last year, the conversion of the FCW branches into Müller locations is progressing quickly. The flagship branch on Zurich’s Bahnhofplatz will soon be history, as the “Aargauer Zeitung” writes.

The closure of the Zurich branch became known through a planning application that envisaged converting it into a Müller branch. This marks the end of a 143-year history that began in 1881 with the opening of the first store on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse by Franz Carl Weber. What once grew into a nationwide network with over 50 branches has now shrunk to 13 locations – and these are not safe from conversion either.

The new concept in the Zurich branch provides for a wide range of products: in addition to drugstore and perfumery products, household goods, stockings, stationery, pet supplies and more will also be offered there. Toys, once the heart of FCW, will now become a side note.

Inquiries about the strategy or the remaining FCW branches remain unanswered by Müller. Shortly after the takeover, the FCW online shop was shut down and posters were put up in the stores indicating the upcoming conversions. Former owner Marcel Dobler had emphasized at the time that the FCW brand should remain, but there is no longer any talk of that.

Expansion instead of nostalgia

Müller is pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy in Switzerland. With 91 branches now – compared to 69 at the end of 2022 – the German retail giant is taking advantage of the inner-city locations that FCW has been able to secure for decades. Industry experts suspected early on that Müller was less concerned with the Franz Carl Weber brand than with its sought-after locations.

The takeover by Müller is part of the eventful history of FCW: After being founded in 1881, the company remained in family ownership until 1984 before it was sold to Denner. Later owners such as the French group Ludendo (bankruptcy in 2016) and the German Simba-Dickie group tried to revive the traditional store – without success.

While Müller dominates the Swiss market, other German dealers are pushing in. Rossmann, the second largest drugstore chain in Germany, opened its first branch in the Emmen Center in Lucerne in December and is planning over 150 additional locations. Unlike Müller or Rossmann, the industry leader DM is staying on the sidelines for the time being – but is concentrating on cooperations such as supplying the Manor department stores with its own brands.

The editor wrote this article using AI.