To compensate for the increasing number of bans on pocket knives around the world, Victorinox is working on a bladeless model.
The producer of the iconic Victorinox Swiss pocket knife is working on a model without a blade. This development is dictated by the multiplication of bans on this object around the world. ‘In some markets, the blade is associated with an image of a weapon,’ said Carl Elsener, director of the company based in Ibach (SZ), in an interview published in Blick on Monday. The company also has a manufacturing site in Delémont.
Thus in Great Britain and in certain Asian countries, only people who need it for their work or for activities in nature can still carry a knife with them. In cities, the carrying of pocket knives is strongly restricted. Carl Elsener imagines a multifunctional tool that cyclists, for example, could use.
This is not the first time the company has faced the issue of the pocket knife blade being considered a potential weapon. After the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, the turnover of pocket knives fell by more than 30% overnight, recalled the boss of Victorinox. ‘September 11 painfully showed us that we should not depend on a single sector of activity,’ he noted.
Price increase
The company exports 80% of pocket knives, kitchen knives, professional knives and watches made in Switzerland. The rest is sold domestically. To compensate for the strength of the franc, the company will have to continue to automate and rationalize in the future, underlines its boss.
Victorinox has increased the prices of its pocket knives by 9%, Mr. Elsener said. Weaker competition compared to its other pillar, professional knives, allowed this price increase. The Swiss manufacturer’s professional knives are 25% more expensive than those of other producers. In this area, the company faces competition from German or American manufacturers, he added. /ATS-fba