More and more arcades and shops are vacant

At first glance, and without hindsight, a tsunami appears to have hit the retail sector in the City of Geneva. Between June 1, 2024, and June 1, 2025, the number of empty store spaces there exploded: up 39%, from 12,603 ​​square meters vacant to 17,491 square meters. The increase is all the more surprising given that, according to figures released by the Cantonal Statistics Office (OCSTAT) at the end of August , there was also an increase at the cantonal level, but this was limited to 4%.

Explaining this boom in empty stores in the City of Geneva is not easy. Ocstat notes that empty spaces "vary greatly from one year to the next," and that this is only a "snapshot as of June 1st." One thing is certain, however: "The trend has been increasing for years," no doubt linked to the boom in online commerce.

Pascal Rocha da Silva, Delegate for the Economy in the City of Geneva, also notes "a gradual increase in vacancies, probably due to the proximity to France and online commerce, the latter factor having the greatest impact." However, he believes that the 39% increase in empty shops in the City is not as worrying as it seems.

First, "the structural decline in retail is valid for all of Switzerland," not just Geneva. Then, looking at a longer period, "after Covid, these empty spaces increased by almost 60% at the cantonal level (editor's note: 57.6% in 2024), much more than in the City, where this figure even fell in 2023 and 2024." Above all, the percentage omits an essential piece of data: the vacancy rate. "In the City, where about half of Geneva's retail space is located, it is between 2% and 2.5%. At the cantonal level, it is close to 3%."

In short, no crisis has suddenly struck the city, even if we don't know what types of businesses are closing their doors. "This area probably corresponds to the total of around a hundred premises. I would be delighted to have a list of vacant businesses. That said, if a particular trade had been decimated, we would have known about it."

The fact remains that "the market is changing," assures Olivier Nimis, head of Remicom, the Swiss leader in business transfers. On the one hand, "all the cities close to the border are struggling." On the other hand, "in the big cities, online commerce is exploding."

This isn't new, but other factors are adding to these difficulties. "It's difficult for a retailer to obtain a lease. The rental agencies are becoming increasingly strict, particularly regarding rental guarantees. Sometimes too strict: I have a client who wants to buy a tea room with a business capital of 80,000 francs. But the landlord is asking for a huge twelve-month guarantee, which will unfortunately prevent him from getting it."

The man also notes that before Covid, European brands "had to be established in Geneva. Today, they are suffering in their own countries, and that is no longer the case." His son, Nicolas Nimis, who is responsible for the Valais market but who lived in Geneva for a long time, adds various elements. "What people don't realize is that they may not have bank credit; and rental guarantee organizations are increasingly careful about granting guarantees."

This is particularly problematic in Geneva because, he says, "some rents have become extremely expensive, and some types of businesses can no longer adapt to them today, even outside the city center." He sums it up in one sentence: "Rents are inadequate, and retailers are not adapting. Some, quite old, do not have a website, have not invested in social networks."

His father makes the same observation. "The quality of retailers has declined. Twenty years ago, they had a real project. Now, I handle 2,500 requests per month, between Geneva and Lausanne, from people who want to become independent. But it's hard, we work more, we earn less! Soon, only a hundred remain, because the others didn't know that they needed a bank loan, a rental guarantee. And in the end, only about twenty open."