An investment of almost €3 million brings new life to the former Swiss Post. The new store will offer 5,400 products and will employ eight employees. Loris De Gol: “A strategic value for the development of our country”
On Thursday 20 August, the new Brissago Coop will open to the public at 44 via Leoncavallo, in the former Post Office. The inauguration marks the return – after many years – of the sign in the country and coincides with a significant milestone for the cooperative: Brissago will be the fiftieth store in Ticino.
The new shop was created at the end of an important redevelopment of the building owned by the Municipality, which involved a total investment of approximately CHF 2.85 million, of which approximately CHF 850 000 was charged to the Municipality for the work of the owner and approximately CHF 2 million to Coop for the work of its own. With a sales area of around 300 square metres, the branch will offer an assortment of 5,400 products, with a focus on fresh food, ready-to-eat convenience items and regional specialities from the ‘La mia Terra’ line. There is also ample space reserved for wines, with about 140 labels.
The store will be led by the manager Giuseppe La Rocca and the vicegerent Jelena Pavlovic. The team will consist of a total of eight collaborators, including two newly recruited people and a young man who has just completed his apprenticeship in Coop.
The opening also led to an internal movement within the company. As is usually the case when a new branch is set up, part of the staff comes from other points of sale, thus making it possible to recruit further staff in the places of origin.
“A new page for Brissago”
For the mayor Veronica Marcacci Rossi, the opening takes on a meaning that goes beyond the arrival of a new commercial activity: “It is a concrete and unequivocal signal that, after difficult years, Brissago is writing a new page in its history.”
The decision to set up Coop's fiftieth Ticino store in Brissago is, according to the mayor, a recognition of the potential of the country and its community. But above all it means guaranteeing the population a new service of proximity.
“We are happy to be able to offer the people of Brixen a fundamental service, which is in addition to the others essential for the daily life of the population. Every new service means a higher quality of life, closer proximity to people and a more vibrant country.”
Finally, Marcacci Rossi underlines the work done to complete a project whose path has been longer than expected: “This important milestone is the result of genuine teamwork. The collaboration, the determination and the common will to achieve the objective made it possible to achieve this project in record time. On 20 August we open a shop, but above all we celebrate a new beginning for Brissago.’
New life for former Swiss Post
The arrival of Coop concludes a process of recovery and enhancement of the former Post Office building, built in two phases, in 1948 and 1970 respectively, and purchased by the Municipality of Brissago in June 2013. Two years later, a first renovation of the two apartments in the building was started.
‘With the arrival of Coop, we are celebrating the result of an important redevelopment project, which has given this building new life, transforming it into a modern, functional space that serves the population’, observes the municipal director of the Public Works Department, Loris De Gol.
The project took time and also had to overcome some difficulties. "Despite the obstacles encountered along the way, we have always believed in this operation and have strongly supported it, recognising its strategic value for the development of our country", adds De Gol. "The opening of the new store strengthens the local commercial offer and represents an important sign of trust in our community and its future".
A service designed for residents and tourists
The Coop will be open Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 19, Saturday from 7.30 to 18.30 and Sunday from 7.30 to 18. The Sunday opening, scheduled during the summer, is intended to meet the needs of both the local population and the many tourists staying in Brissago in the summer.
The branch will have a traditional ribbon crate and two automatic crates. Passabene and Pick-up services will also be available, as well as a station for the delivery of recyclable materials and free parking spaces for a limited time.
According to Coop, the decision to invest in Brissago was made after an analysis of the market and the territory, which revealed the possibility of further strengthening the company’s presence in Locarno.
‘Brissago represents a strategic position, in which Coop was already present in the past’, explains Dario a Marca, Coop head of sales for the Ticino and Moesano regions. ‘The return to this location, with the inauguration of the fiftieth store in Ticino, confirms the company’s desire to be ever closer to the daily needs of local customers’.
The decision is part of a strategy that does not only concern large shopping centres. Coop intends to maintain a balanced network between large, medium and small shops, ensuring a presence also in municipalities and peripheral areas.
"Customer proximity and capillarity remain key strategic objectives," he told Marca. The aim is to be present in places where people live and move, becoming a point of reference for daily spending and giving priority to the local service”.
Competition across borders
The geographical particularities of Brissago were also taken into account in the assessment. The town is in fact located between the commercial centers of Ascona and Losone, to the north, and the nearby Cannobio, to the south, where a part of the population usually goes for purchases.
“Our analysis took into account the proximity to the border”, he confirmed to Marca. “However, there was a real need on the part of local customers. We believe that a modern and welcoming local shop can be an added value for the whole community, offering freshness and convenience directly on site.”
Residents will be the main customer base, but the new branch also focuses on tourists and the visibility guaranteed by its location along a busy international road. It is precisely the combination of local population, tourism and transit traffic that has contributed to the choice of Brissago.
With the inauguration on 20 August, the country is thus reviving a local service and, at the same time, completing an intervention intended to give a new function to a historic building located in the heart of Brissago. A project that combines urban redevelopment, commercial offer and attention to the daily needs of the population.
To celebrate the opening of the 50th Ticino store, Coop invites the population to participate in the inaugural days from 20 to 23 August. Children’s activities are planned with Jamadu and the wheel of fortune, a barbecue not to be missed, a competition with Coop gift cards up for grabs and the special offer of 10x Superpoints on the whole assortment.