Swiss Army Knife Maker Innovates To Meet Global Blade Restrictions

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Victorinox is working on a pocketknife without blades. The increasing regulation of knives due to the violence in the world has prompted the Swiss company to re-think, CEO Carl Elsener said in an interview.

“The blade gives rise to a weapon-like image in some markets,” said Elsener in an interview with“Blick” published online on Monday. In England and some Asian countries, only those who need a knife for work or outdoor activities are allowed to carry one.

+ How carrying a Swiss army knife can land you in court

In cities, the carrying of pocketknives is severely restricted. Instead, Elsener has in mind a multifunctional tool that can be used by cyclists, for example.

This is not the first time the company has been confronted with the fact that the blade of the pocketknife is seen as a potential weapon. After the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001, sales of pocketknives plummeted by over 30% overnight, said Elsener.

“9/11 painfully showed us that we must not become dependent on a single business area,” he said.

The company, headquartered in Ibach in canton Schwyz, exports 80% of the pocketknives, kitchen knives, professional knives and watches manufactured in Switzerland, said the CEO. Some 20% of its products are sold in Switzerland.

This content was published on Nov 12, 2016

To compensate for the strong Swiss franc, the company will have to increase automation and streamlining in the future.

According to Elsener, Victorinox increased prices for pocketknives by 9%. The lower competition in the pocketknife market, compared to the other mainstay, professional knives, had made the price increase possible. The Swiss manufacturer's professional knives are 25% more expensive than those of its competitors.

In this area, the company has to compete with manufacturers from Germany or the US.

Adapted from German by DeepL/dkk/mga

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here , and if you have feedback on this news story please write to ... .

Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox.

Daily

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.

I consent to the use of my data for the SWI swissinfo newsletter.

• Episode 7: The Swiss army knife

This content was published on May 5, 2024 The head of the Swiss Football League says he prefers a harsher approach to individual hooligans rather than collective punishment measures affecting all fans.

This content was published on May 5, 2024 The Swiss government emphasised on Sunday the vital role of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, 75 years after it was founded.

This content was published on May 5, 2024 Bern can count on the backing of Italy as it re-enters talks with the European Union on future relations, Viola Amherd says.

This content was published on May 5, 2024 Since Thursday, a hall on campus has been occupied by students calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a ceasefire in Gaza.

This content was published on May 4, 2024 Pope Francis has received Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd for a 25-minute audience at the Vatican.

This content was published on May 4, 2024 Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter).

This content was published on May 4, 2024 From June 16, the Indian airline will fly between Zurich and New Delhi.

This content was published on May 4, 2024 Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities.

This content was published on May 3, 2024 The new facility is improving production capacity in addition to creating a dozen new jobs.

This content was published on May 3, 2024 Brian was involved in a fight with another man, with whom he has been feuding for some time, say police.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at ... .

MENAFN06052024000210011054ID1108176839

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.