Fox Town, the “Swiss fox”, is expanding

Two hundred and fifty brands in one hundred and sixty shops. This is not any outlet, but “a temple of accessible luxury”, for a genuine shopping experience.

Fox Town, the “Swiss fox”, just a stone’s throw from Italy, has presented its results for 2011, and its plans for the next few years.

Silvio Tarchini’s eyes lit up as soon as he started to talk about his creation. “At a time of crisis, like this, we ended the year with over 1% growth. We had three million, two hundred thousand customers, only 25% of whom were from Switzerland, with over 60% from Italy, but also a lot of Asians, Europeans and Russians.”

The international nature, which has always been a distinctive feature of Fox Town, became more intense, thanks to non-European visitors (+10% on the previous year, accounting for over 30% of total sales).

“In 2011,” said Giorgia Tarchini, “we saw the arrival of new, important shops, which distinguish us clearly from other outlets. We target a medium-high range, and make quality products accessible. This explains why such brands as Lindt, Blumarine, Borbonese, Class Roberto Cavalli, Desigual, Gherardini, Marina Militare, Pollini and Villeroy&Boch have come.”

Fox Town is in a state of continuous evolution, and new openings are planned, bringing the number of shops to two hundred. In the meantime, the considerable investments in restyling the communal areas of the centre are continuing, under the supervision of the architect Ettore Mocchetti, the editor of the magazine Architectural Digest. The selection of food and wine, under the direction of Attilio Scotti, will soon be even greater, when the “Chalet Suisse” opens in April, with seating for eighty, in a wooden décor, where visitors will find only Swiss specialities. Working in partnership with “Chalet Suisse”, the Dairy of Airolo will give visitors the opportunity to select from a well-supplied cheese trolley. As Tarchini said, “There will be the flavours that tourists often look for, but can rarely find in Ticino.”

Thus, attention is being focused not only on the typically commercial aspects, but also on the pleasure of publicising the region. And this has led to a philosophy that values the suggestions of others, and, at the same time, virtuous behaviour. “We’re going to build a new multi-storey car park, which will be near the railway station from Varese and Lugano. We’re going to encourage our customers who want to use public transport. Quality and convenience, combined with the involvement of our customers, are the DNA of Fox Town,” Silvio Tarchini concluded. “These ideas with a regional character, are the essence of our desire for continuous renewal, but with our roots firmly planted, from a natural choice that stems from the growing importance of Fox Town as a place to discover the treasures of Switzerland.”

Marco Hefti, the Marketing and Sales Manager of the company, said, “Fox Town, which already has a public page on Facebook, is going to encourage business on social networks, with its dedicated team. We’re also going to activate large wi-fi zones in the public catering areas, to allow our customers to access the Internet.”