EGiese Victorinox also means continuity, and not least that. The very thing that Vc is often criticised for (not being very innovative, etc.) somehow strikes me as refreshingly calm. They don't turn everything upside down every year and start from scratch.
Yes I agree.
I was thinking about things along those lines too. Many people say they want to see huge changes every year. Could you imagine if they did in-fact do that more than they already have. Look back in time a couple of decades at what they were selling. Nothing is unrecognizable when you compare it to the current models. I also think there is plenty of innovation. You can draw a direct line directly to the older models still.
If Victorinox did what some people want and add tools or options or as it’s referred to as “innovate” just for the purpose of including something new every year what we would have today would probably be a very different product. They would have added a bunch of sub standard ideas and then been forced to modify all the tooling and assembly processes to go along with that. That’s expensive. Maybe people would have a different opinion of them because maybe their products didn’t instil the same confidence or have the same quality consistency.
I find it interesting when people complain about this and say they see Victorinox making bad decisions recently and they are somehow changing how they operate to cash in or maybe it some other thing. These people are looking through a very narrow window. I say to them keep an eye on Victorinox for a couple of decades before you come to conclusions like that. Looking in the rear view mirror at past models only tells you part of the story. If you lived through that time and saw what was happening in the world, saw what was available in the market, understood the constraints as well as advantages of being a manufacturer in that era. That’s the stuff you’ll never read in any “History of Victorinox” book. The full context reality was so different. They had so many opportunities to make the wrong decision and that could have taken the company in the wrong direction but somehow skillfully avoided it. A lot of the historical family brands really started to disappear in the 80s I think. Everything changed because big massive companies purchased all the independent brands. Then those big companies bought other big companies. Competition became an illusion. They all had the same parent company. Innovation was only moved forward when the accountants said it was a good idea and not for any other reason. Manufacturing went to foreign factories that paid workers a low wage because they could get away with it. The entire time these companies looked the other way and counted their money.
I think one thing we can all say is we can go out today and buy the same Victorinox knife we were given or were drawn to as our first. There aren’t many things that we can perfectly recreate just as it was for us for someone else. That is something I’d really like to hang onto. Who knows how long they can keep it on the rails too. There seems to be no shortage of unimaginable challenges for them now again.
I’ve personally supported them a lot by buying many new knives just this year directly from their web store. Sure sometimes I buy because of nostalgia, I also buy because of innovation, I buy for investment too but every single time it’s also because I know what I’m going to get is going to be quality. I know the story is similar with everyone else here. I’m not unique. It’s kind of like preaching to the choir I know. We all want to support Victorinox or we wouldn’t be interested enough to be here.
