Manor Food vs Globus: Are Switzerland's Premium Grocers Worth the Price? (2026)

Globus was a Swiss icon for 113 years. In 2020, Migros sold it to a joint venture between Austria's Signa Holding and Thailand's Central Group. Signa collapsed in November 2023. On September 30, 2024, Central Group bought out Signa's remaining 50% of the operating business. Globus is now wholly Thai-owned at the corporate level, marketed by André Maeder (the Swiss CEO of Central Group Europe) as the country's leading luxury retailer. Manor, the other premium grocer most expats and visitors encounter, has been continuously owned by the Geneva-based Maus Frères family group since 1902. Same country, same shelves, very different corporate stories. Here is the honest 2026 guide to where the premium is justified, where it isn't, and which basics you should never buy at either place.

Sources checked regularly. Maus Frères SA corporate (maus.ch); Globus / Central Group communications (globus.ch, Bloomberg, NZZ, swissinfo.ch, SRF News, September 30, 2024 acquisition reporting); Manor "Guaranteed Low Prices" programme page (manor.ch/u/price-guarantee); CremeGuides on Globus Delicatessa Zurich; Wikipedia cross-checks on Maus Frères, Globus department store, Manor. Prices verified in Zurich, May 2026.

Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

Who actually owns what

Manor: 100% owned by Maus Frères SA, a private family holding founded in 1892 by Ernest and Henri Maus and now in its fourth generation. Geneva-based, Swiss-controlled, Swiss-managed. The name "Manor" comes from the surnames Maus and Nordmann (Léon Nordmann partnered in 1902 in Lucerne). Through the sister entity MF Brands Group, the family also owns Lacoste (majority since 2012), Gant (since 2008), Aigle, The Kooples and Tecnifibre. Combined brands revenue: roughly CHF 2.8 billion. Manor itself operates 56 department stores (down from 70 in 2010), plus around 22 Manor Food supermarkets and 23 Manora restaurants (2026), with estimated revenue CHF 2.2 to 2.3 billion. The network is shrinking: the Delemónt, Wohlen AG and Sargans SG department stores close from Q1 2027, and the Manor Food supermarkets in Rapperswil, Emmen and Basel pass to Coop across 2026 and 2027, with the Morges supermarket floor going to Migros. Manor Food is being concentrated on French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland. Current Maus Frères CEO: Thierry Guibert, since January 2021, the first non-family chief executive.

Globus: 100% owned by Central Group, the privately held Thai retail conglomerate of the Chirathivat family (also owners of KaDeWe, Alsterhaus and Oberpollinger in Germany, La Rinascente in Italy, Illum in Denmark, and a partial stake in Selfridges). Founded in Zurich in 1907. As of September 2026 globus.ch lists nine Swiss department stores: Zurich Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich Bellevue, Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Glatt in Wallisellen. Bellevue and the Basel Marktplatz house are open, not "coming soon". As of September 2026 the company is run by Managing Director Lucia Guagliardi, in post since October 2025, with Pierluigi Cocchini as chairman since February 2025. Globus no longer uses a CEO title; Franco Savastano, the last holder, led the house until the end of February 2026. Worth noting: the real estate sits separately from the operating business. It was previously held 50/50 with Signa, and since 2025 the buildings have been going to market one at a time, so individual Globus properties may still change hands.

A common confusion deserves direct correction: Manor was never owned by Migros. Migros and Globus had a corporate relationship from 1997 to 2020. Migros and Manor have never been linked.

Premium tier vs value tier: what each actually is

Manor Food is a dual-positioning grocer. The premium side is what most people picture: fresh seafood counters, in-house cheese affinage in larger stores, charcuterie, gift baskets, prepared traiteur platters, wine. The value side is what most coverage misses: Manor Food has run a "Guaranteed Low Prices" programme since February 21, 2018 covering 500 selected products. If you find one of those 500 cheaper anywhere in Switzerland within 21 days of purchase, Manor refunds double the price difference. They also operate the Manor Everyday value private-label line (mostly Swiss-produced basics). So Manor Food competes on price for basics and competes on selection for premium.

Globus Delicatessa is the food-hall format inside Globus department stores. The Zurich Bahnhofstrasse Delicatessa runs 1'200 sqm in the basement, with a Prosciutteria carrying 30 to 40 hams on the bone, the most diverse caviar selection in Europe (per CremeGuides), a cheese counter with an in-house Cave d'Affinage, a traiteur covering Mediterranean / Asian / Nordic / Oriental cuisines, a patisserie counter, and an extensive wine and champagne range including a Raritätenkeller (rare-vintage cellar). Globus also runs Genussführungen (guided gourmet tours, CHF 100 per person, 1 hour). The positioning is pure luxury: there is no value tier.

When premium is genuinely justified

Five categories where Manor Food and Globus Delicatessa deliver something the discounters and full-service chains structurally cannot.

1. Fresh seafood: live and ungutted whole fish, sushi-grade tuna and salmon, oysters by the dozen, specialty crustaceans. The Migros and Coop fresh-fish counters carry mainstream species (salmon, trout, perch, sole, occasionally turbot). For Saint-Pierre, Mediterranean dorade, fresh octopus, line-caught tuna, or a specific oyster origin, Manor Food or Globus is where you go.

2. Specialty cheese with affinage: Migros and Coop sell mass-market cheese well; for rare Alpine PDOs at peak maturity, raw-milk Camemberts at the right ripeness, or specific Italian or French regional cheeses, the in-house affinage cellars at Globus and at Manor's larger urban stores make a real difference.

3. Charcuterie: Spanish jamón ibérico de bellota, Italian Parma DOP at 24+ months, San Daniele, French jambon de Bayonne, specialty saucissons. The Globus Prosciutteria with 30+ hams is the structural advantage.

4. Imported brands not stocked at Migros or Coop: this is the expat and international-shopper draw. British, American, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Mexican specialty groceries that mainstream Swiss chains don't carry consistently. See the grocery guide for expats in Switzerland for the wider picture.

5. Gift baskets and entertaining: ready-assembled gift baskets, gourmet platters, hosting trays for 4 to 12 people. Globus and Manor Food both offer assembly and same-day pickup; Migros and Coop don't compete here.

Manor Food vs Globus: the 10-item price check (May 2026, Zurich)

Two patterns emerge. For specialty imports, fresh seafood and gourmet meat, the premium grocers sat above the Migros / Coop equivalent in this check where one exists (Parmigiano, oysters, sea bream), but are often the only place stocking the SKU at all. For commodity basics like bottled water, branded snacks at standard price, or Manor Everyday own-label items, prices are competitive with mainstream grocers, but only on the Tiefpreis-Garantie products. Outside that list, basics at Globus and Manor carry no price guarantee, and this check did not compare them with the discounters.

When NOT to shop here

Toilet paper, basic milk, eggs (unless free-range from a specific producer), branded snacks at full price, soft drinks, household cleaning products, dishwasher tablets. The convenience-store-style premium on these items at Globus and Manor Food is structural, not occasional. Buy them at Aldi, Lidl, Denner, or the discount tiers of Migros and Coop, and visit the premium grocers for the specialty part of your basket. See the cheapest supermarket in Switzerland guide for the discount-side map.

The expat and gift angle

For international transplants in Switzerland, Manor Food and Globus are often the first stores that stock home-country brands consistently. British expats find Heinz, HP Sauce, Marmite, Walkers. American expats find Reese's, Hershey's, Marshmallow Fluff, certain peanut butters. East Asian shoppers find specific soy sauces, miso, gochujang at acceptable freshness. None of these will be at Migros or Coop standard branches at consistent stocking levels.

For gifting (corporate, hospitality, dinner-party hostess), both grocers do this category well and similarly priced. Globus Delicatessa leans more conspicuously luxury; Manor Food gift baskets are slightly more Swiss-regional in selection. For the wine and Champagne side, see the where to buy wine and spirits in Switzerland guide.