Swiss officials apologise to Oprah
A SWISS luxury-goods store denied any wrongdoing this week after Oprah Winfrey suggested that she had encountered racism when one of its shop assistants refused to show her an expensive handbag.
The store’s owner claimed the incident was based on a “misunderstanding” owing to language difficulties and that the saleswoman had never sought to stop Winfrey, whom she failed to recognise, from buying the £24 000 (about R365 000) crocodile-skin bag.
Winfrey, one of the world’s wealthiest women, claimed the assistant had told her the bag was “too expensive” and refused to show it to her when she visited a Trois Pommes boutique in Zurich last month. She said the incident demonstrated that racism was still a problem.
Switzerland’s national tourism board issued a direct apology for the incident, saying the actions of the saleswoman had been “terribly wrong“.
But Trudie Goetz, owner of the Trois Pommes chain, insisted that it had simply been an innocent mix-up.
“My salesperson wanted to give her the handbag in her hand. But she didn’t want to take the bag,” Goetz said.
She said her assistant had worked in the store “for a few years and takes care of the most spoilt customers from all over the world . . . any countries . . . She is a really correct salesperson. Her English isn’t as good as her Italian, so it must have been a misunderstanding.
“Everyone wants to sell a crocodile bag. She explained how beautiful the bag was, then she said: ‘Honestly, this bag costs 35 000 Swiss francs, but I can show you other versions in ostrich, in pure leather and in velour.’ ”
Goetz’s interpretation of the incident was not shared by businesswoman, actress and talkshow host Winfrey, who is ranked the most powerful celebrity in the world. Her personal fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine at £1.8-billion. She recounted it while discussing racism on the US television show Entertainment Tonight.
Describing how she had spotted the handbag — designed by Tom Ford — while visiting Zurich ahead of her friend Tina Turner’s wedding, she said: “I go into a store and I say to the woman ‘Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?’ And she says to me: ‘No. It’s too expensive.’ ”
Winfrey said she insisted twice, but the shop assistant refused to take it off the shelf and suggested other, cheaper bags instead. “One more time I tried. I said I really do just want to see that one and the shopkeeper said: ‘Oh, I don’t want to hurt your feelings.’ And I said: ‘Okay, thank you so much. You’re probably right, I can’t afford it.’ And I walked out of the store,” Winfrey said.
The star told the presenter Nancy O’Dell that her high profile largely shielded her from blatant racial and sexual discrimination in her daily life, but she cited the encounter as an example of everyday racism in a city where she was not a household name. “I could have had the whole blow-up thing and thrown down the black card, but why do that?” Winfrey said.
She had been tempted to “create a Pretty Woman moment and come back and buy everything and say ‘Big mistake!’ But then I thought she’d get a commission, so let’s not do that.”
Goetz said she would be taking no disciplinary action against the sales assistant.
But, desperate to avert a public relations disaster for the country, Switzerland’s national tourism board posted an apology on Twitter, saying “this person acted terribly wrong”.
Winfrey’s claims come amid a row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum seekers from certain public places. Human rights critics have likened the plans — which include banning them from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries — to apartheid.
This is not the first time Winfrey has been shut out by a store. In 2005 she visited a Hermès shop in Paris and was turned away 15 minutes after closing time. A Hermès executive later apologised for the “rigid and rude” behaviour of the employee.