Lindt-Sprungli have built a new outlet shop in Lachen with longer opening hours.
It is now open Mon-Fri 11-18:00 and...is even open Saturdays!!! (I think 11-16:00).
The range is quite large. They have a pick-n-mix selection which you pay by the kilo, they have shop quality products (no damage, long expiry date etc), past-festival stuff really cheap (eg. post christmas), things out of packaging (eg. pralines, kirsch stangli that are sold per 200gm bag) and things that are not quite right (eg they had pistachio blocks which were labeled "light flavour" which I take that they didnt put enough pistachio flavoring, these there selling for only 1CHF but tasted YUM still!). And the best part is that they even sell cooking chocolate (high cocoa content)!!
It is a great place to either stock up, bring visiting friends, buy presents etc.
I knew about the new outlet for quite a while (andf it's very conspicuous from A13), but I haven't been there yet. I was told they also have the Lindor truffles with the dark blue wrap, tasting like something between the black and the red ones. They normally are not available in Switzerland. I'm not a chocoholic at all, but I like them, and I have yet to meet a person who doesn't, so it's still a mystery to me why they took them from the regular Swiss market a few years ago.
For the real chocoholics, there are factory outlets of Läderach Glarus in Bilten and Ennenda GL: http://www.laederach.ch/de/shop/webs...rikverkauf.php . They also carry many products with minor blemishes (most of them barely noticeable) at heavily reduced prices, and the quality is just as good as Lindt-Sprüngli, just less industrial and more artisanal.
I have been to the shop in december and bought a lot of chocolate for Christmas there:
- 100g bars which were only 95 gramms and therefore could not be sold as regularly. less than a franc a piece.
- bars which had recipe mistakes above the limits of the quality control. I do not know what they should taste like originally, but found them still dleicious. Less than a frank for 100 gramms.
- Lots of pralines and those "lindor" balls without the regular packages, but in some clear plastic bags instead. "2nd quality" with minor cosmetic mistakes.
I would add that 70% of the shop were actually "normal" products for equally normal prices.
For me the stop was worth it, but only if you are not looking for presents as the cheap stuff was either not nicely packaged or had BIG stickers on them describing the mistakes that lead to the reduced price.
in the pick'n mix section they have a huge range of dark choc with varying % of cocoa. Even Gianduiotto/gianduja chocolate in dark chocolate (YUM). I am fairly certain I saw the dark blue Lindor balls ...
I have a question...we went there, stocked up, and then gave them to friends and family in France. We then went to the store, in France, and saw that they were cheaper. Is the tax really that high? Because, it's all I can imagine if they are selling chocolate at an outlet store, there is almost no overhead, and yet it was cheaper in Paris.