The train was on time, to the Swiss minute, as I boarded for a cross-country trip. It was 2010, and I was in Switzerland traveling between two powerhouses of the knife world.
Wenger and Victorinox, respectively in the cities of Delemont and Ibach, both made Swiss Army Knives.
As sister brands, they were owned by the same parent company and pumped out millions of the iconic pocketknives each year. (Read my article from 2010, “Origins of Swiss Army Knife,” for the full back story.)
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This changes in 2014. “Many consumers can hardly distinguish between the knife products from Victorinox and Wenger,” noted Carl Elsener, CEO of Victorinox. “That’s why we are joining forces and focusing on one brand.”
(Jump to page 2 for our interview with Victorinox president Rene Stutz.)
Wenger’s stamp will no longer be seen on Swiss Army Knives. Instead, about two-thirds of its current knife models will be rebranded as Victorinox.
The remaining knives, many close cousins to Victorinox models, will be eliminated from the line.
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The brands are merging as “the global fight for survival is getting increasingly fierce,” said Elsener in a statement about the business decision.
I explore the history of the iconic knife type in the article “Origins of Swiss Army Knife.” But, in short, long-ago established Swiss government contracts and policies within the country allowed two factories on different sides of the country to both make the knives.
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