In 1989, the Globus Group opened the first Office World branch in England. Two years later, the first shop in Switzerland opened, along with an online store. In the United Kingdom, the company was sold to Staples in 2004 and the shops were closed. Now there is also news from the Swiss branch.
The Swiss Office World Group is focusing its sales to smaller private customers on the growing online offering of its platform, officeworld.ch. In-store sales will therefore be phased out gradually by spring 2027. This will affect 45 full-time positions across ten branches. Office World is deliberately involving the affected employees in the process at an early stage in order to provide them with the best possible support.
Back in March 2026, Office World personally informed staff at its ten branches about the company’s future direction. “It is a bitter truth: in the long term, the costs and revenues in our brick-and-mortar business are simply no longer in a healthy balance. This has regrettable consequences,” says Dominik Engeler, Head of Retail Operations at Office World. Furthermore, people are increasingly buying office supplies online and visiting physical shops less frequently. For this reason, the Office World Group is focusing its offering on the growing online retail sector and the online shop www.officeworld.ch. At the same time, the Office World Group, together with its other companies, is strengthening its position as the leading full-service provider of office supplies and services in Switzerland and offers the widest range with around 60,000 items.
The focus on the online shop means that the ten remaining branches will have to be closed gradually by spring 2027. The plan provides for the following closures:
- End of June 2026: St. Gallen
- End of September 2026: Regensdorf
- End of October 2026: Pratteln and Zurich Glattzentrum
- End of December 2026: Lausanne
- End of February 2027: Basel Dreispitz, Lucerne, Steinhausen, Zurich Altstetten
- End of April 2027: Geneva
Affected employees will receive support.
The Office World Group is aware that the branch closures represent a significant career change for the colleagues affected. A total of 45 full-time positions will be lost across the ten branches. It is important to Office World not only to involve employees in the process at an early stage.
They will also receive active support to help them take on a new role within or outside the Office World Group. This approach has proven successful. By the end of January and February 2026, the branches in Sursee, Bern and Winterthur had already closed their doors. Thanks to early involvement and individual personalised support, a follow-up solution was found or offered in collaboration with the affected employees.
About Office World
Office World is Switzerland’s leading multichannel provider of office products and services. Private and business customers can purchase office supplies from 10 branches, as well as via the online shop and a call centre. The first Office World branch opened over 30 years ago, and the online shop was launched as a digital sales channel almost at the same time. Office World employs around 140 staff and apprentices and dispatches approximately 250,000 parcels a year containing office supplies, printer paper, stationery, office furniture (such as office chairs), office technology, as well as ink, toner, learning aids and craft and creative items.
About the Office World Group
The Office World Group is a joint venture between Office World Holding AG and PEG Papeteristen-Einkaufsgenossenschaft (formerly OFFIX Holding AG), the two leading Swiss business groups in the office supplies and office technology sector. In addition to Office World, the companies iba, Tramondi and Office World Trade, with diverse and highly specialised sales organisations, ensure proven customer proximity. The entire Office World Group now has around 500 employees.
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