O.K., as an outdoor freak and gear junkie, I have to go in almost every reasonable outdoor shop I can. In the U.S. the biggie is obviously REI. In Germany, it's Globetrotter and it seems that Transa is more or less the Globetrotter of Switzerland. Is that a good thing? I think so.
One thing that I've found very frustrating about living in Europe is the lack of selection. Most shops of any ilk (sport or otherwise) seem to sell only European brands or the "popular" brands from elsewhere. The beauty of the bigger shops is that they can actually give you that selection and Transa doesn't disappoint.
Another thing that I have previously found is that it's often very difficult to get anyone to help you in the smaller shops... somehow, the bigger stores (especially in Switzerland) have figured out that service is a huge factor. Even if I don't need or want help it's nice to at least be acknowledged in case you do want to ask a question. In the 2-3 times I've been in Transa and their outlet store, there's always someone nearby to ask questions or give advice.
Transa doesn't have everything I want and I'd be surprised if they did but they sure do fill in a lot of large holes in the market from what I can tell. Hopefully, they'll convince some of the other shops to step up their service and selection a bit. As far as prices go, they're really not much different than the competition but if you want to see and experience a really nice store, check 'em out. Now, if only they were open on Sunday (they are attached to HBf after all)! read more