Trudie Gotz says that Winfrey was "absolutely allowed" to look at the £22,500 bag
Winfrey said she was told by a shop assistant that a handbag would be "too expensive" for her to purchase. The chat show host and media mogul, 59, is one of the richest women in the world.
According to the BBC, Gotz said that Winfrey was "absolutely allowed" to look at the $35,000 (£22,500) bag behind the screen in the shop.
She said: "My salesperson wanted to give her the handbag in her hand. But she didn't want to take the bag."
She also added that the sales assistant had worked at the shop "for a few years and takes care of the most spoilt customers from all over the world...she is really a correct sales person."
Ms Gotz did not call into question Winfrey's account of events.
"I didn't take care of [Winfrey]. I'm sure she felt like this - but my salesgirl promised me she took care of [her] really the best she could. So it must have been a misunderstanding," she said.
Ms Gotz said her assistant spoke both Italian and English, "but her English isn't as good".
"She tried to show Mrs Oprah the same style in other qualities, because maybe she didn't understand what she wanted."
Winfrey was in Switzerland to attend the wedding of her friend Tina Turner.
She told Entertainment Tonight: "I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear. I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals. But obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich.
"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.'"
According to Oprah, she asked again and the assistant replied "'No, no you don’t want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that.'"
Oprah said she walked out of the shop "calmly" but said: "That clearly is you know … it (racism) still exists, of course it does."
