“Champagne is the only exception”
Nowadays, everyone is looking for an unrivalled luxury experience. Beyer CEO Hanspeter Pieth tells us how he aims to achieve it.
Mr Pieth, you want to offer Beyer’s clientele an unparalleled experience at the highest level. What can we expect?
Today, everyone is talking about “luxury experiences”; however, there’s no universal formula. Luxury always needs to be truly unique – a personalised experience; an opulent, positive surprise.
Like a bar serving champagne or a great espresso, with mellow music and hand-roasted nuts?
Today, many of the shops on Bahnhofstrasse have a bar. That’s no longer luxury; it’s become standard. That’s why we’re trying to take it one step further. As far as I know, we’re the only boutique that has a restaurateur on staff to delight our guests. But even that’s not enough for us.
What does that mean?
The menu changes every few weeks and is comprised entirely of snacks and drinks from the Zurich region. From water to sparkling wine to gin, from cheese fresh from the market to handmade chocolates all the way to a veal fillet dish. This suits us perfectly. We are Zurich. Champagne is the only exception.
And that’s enough to create an experience?
Hardly! But it is part of the larger picture. Extravagant floral arrangements also play a role, as does a pleasant yet subtle scent or a hot towelette in the winter and a cool towelette in the summer. The friendliness and competence of our staff are paramount.
What else is important?
That our efforts to create an exquisite experience never come across as forced or insincere, but rather as a natural act, and are therefore interpreted as such. We want to set ourselves apart from the other shops on Bahnhofstrasse, but we also want to remain approachable and grounded in spite of the luxury. That is what Beyer always has been and always will be.
When will you have achieved your goal? When will Beyer have offered the perfect luxury experience?
(Laughs.) In the best-case scenario, we have already achieved it. But ultimately, this journey never reaches its destination: top performance and uniqueness are always an ongoing process.
“Uniqueness is always an ongoing process” – Hanspeter Pieth
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