The Hindu : International : Swiss Army knife goes hi-tech

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004

International

International

Swiss Army knife goes hi-tech

GENEVA, DEC. 20. Generations of people have fancied these examples of craftsmanship with their unfolding fan of blades, their pop-out corkscrews and hidden magnifying glasses. Now the Swiss Army knife is going high-tech with a new model that includes a memory chip that can store up to 512 megabytes of data.

It is all part of a strategy to win back consumers after the September 11 attacks deprived the two official makers of the Swiss Army knife of a big part of a crucial market: Travellers who bought knives as souvenirs and gifts. After the attacks, pocket-knives suddenly became much less attractive for travellers as airport screeners started confiscating anything sharp or pointed, including nail files.

This season, Victorinox, the biggest maker of the knives, is pinning its hopes on the ``SwissMemory'' series, first introduced in March at the Hamburg Computer Fair. Its innovation is the inclusion of a small data chip that can store anything from photos to MP3 files and can be plugged directly into a computer's USB port. ``We have been planning this for a long time now — since USB first came on the market — but until now the technology was too big and complex to be put in a pocket knife,'' said a spokesman for Victorinox.

Demand for the knives in the United States, for instance, fell some 50 per cent in the 12 months following the terror attacks, according to the finance director for Wenger, Victorinox's sole rival in the Swiss Army knife business. Both companies say their sales have recovered strongly but have not yet regained their pre-September 11 levels.

A strong move

The two companies, whose products were banned worldwide from duty-free shops and carry-on luggage after the attacks, hope that this year's additions to their ever-increasing list of models — which now include built-in butane lighters and alarm clocks — will help their recovery. ``We wanted to make a strong move on the market this year, because we have been having a difficult time,'' said a Victorinox spokesman. ``We used to sell many pocket knives in the duty-free section, but now this happens increasingly less because they must be packed before flying.''

Victorinox's SwissMemory series includes a special flight version with a shorter blade that will allow travellers on flights from Europe to bring the knife on board in their carry-on baggage. Swiss and European authorities permit passengers to bring on knives if the blade is shorter than 6 cm and cannot be locked open. The mini-knives can also now be sold in airport duty-free shops.

The SwissMemory products augment over 400 other pocket-knives in the company's inventory, including the glow-in-the-dark ``Stay Glow'' and flashlight-embedded ``Midnite Manager.''

Good response

The reaction so far has been ``very good'' according to the marketing director at the 120-year-old Victorinox, which is based in the German-speaking canton (state) of Schwyz. He estimates that Christmas shopping accounts for a fifth of its annual income. Victorinox says sales aimed at year-end giving are a big part of its yearly total, but declined to give a percentage. Aside from ordinary consumers, Victorinox and Wenger do have one constant source of revenue: They evenly split the rights to provide the Swiss military with knives.

Wenger lost between 20 and 25 per cent of its pocket-knife sales in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks. Victorinox's Swiss Army knife sales slumped 8 to 10 per cent after September 11.

Roughly half of its pocket knife sales in Switzerland go to tourists, many of whom make their purchases ``spontaneously,'' just before boarding flights.

``The crash of 2001 hurt a lot,'' said Wenger's head of marketing and communications. ``Luckily, this did not last too long — people realised that having a pocket knife does not make you a terrorist.'' Wengerhas embarked on perhaps the more risky strategy — making the most significant changes to the external appearance of the Swiss Army knife in its century-old history.

The ``Evolution'' line released in November upgrades the tool's handgrip, making it easier on the thumb and palm when using. Wenger — whose annual sales are one fourth those of Victorinox — hopes the changes will give the company a more modern image.

``The competition has now got much more aggressive in recent years,'' a Victorinox spokesperson. ``There are only two Swiss Army knife firms in Switzerland, and we are the smaller one.''

Victorinox expects a 40 per cent increase in sales for the company over the last six months compared to the same period last year, partly thanks to the introduction of Wenger's new products.

Wenger already offers over 300 different pocket-knife variations, from the luxury platinum-plated Porsche series to more practical innovations such as laser pointers, cigar cutters and bike wrenches.

The firm will introduce further innovations in 2005, but ``the new knives will not replace the classic — they will be complementary,'' a Victorinox spokesperson said.

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