Swiss army fragrance case study

SWISS ARMY: DIVERSIFYING INTO THE FRAGRANCE BUSINESS Professor Ilan Alon, Associate Professor Marc Fetscherin and Claudia Carvajal wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) cases@ivey.ca; www.iveycases.com. Copyright © 2014, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation Version: 2016-03-04

In 2005, Victorinox, the manufacturer of the famous Swiss Army Knives, acquired its main competitor, Wenger S.A. The acquisition also included Wenger’s knives, watches and its fragrance label. By acquiring Wenger, Victorinox became the world’s main manufacturer of the famous Swiss Army Knife as well as a key player in sales of the Swiss Army Watch (some smaller competitors sold watches under the “Swiss Army” or “Swiss Military” label). Urs Wyss, head of marketing at Victorinox, was asked to assess how to handle the acquired fragrance business unit. Should Victorinox design a business strategy to enter the fragrance industry? Should Victorinox diversify into the fragrance business and, if so, how? Should the firm attempt to transfer its existing brand attributes to fragrance products or should it sell fragrances under another brand name? Urs Wyss was asked to present a plan to Carl Elsener, the CEO of the company, regarding how best to deal with the newly acquired fragrance business unit. COMPANY ORIGINS In 1884, Karl Elsener, the great-grandfather of the current CEO, opened a cutlery workshop in Ibach- Schwyz, Switzerland, to deliver knives to Swiss Army soldiers. He designed a product that included various functions and tools, all in one simple and easy-to-carry knife. Since then, Victorinox had been responsible for the many innovative features of the famous “Swiss Army Knife.”1 Millions of people throughout the world associated Victorinox with typical Swiss values such as innovation, reliability, functionality and quality. For over 120 years, Victorinox had remained true to its mission, which was the driver behind the company’s culture and orientation: “to provide our fellow human beings all over the world with practical, functional, reasonably priced and top-quality products.”2 Victorinox was identified and known by its brand names, “Victorinox” and “Victorinox Swiss Army” (the two umbrella brands). In the dynamic global marketplace, where products were becoming increasingly similar and imitations of innovations were standard practice, a strong brand could develop its own orientation, making differentiation possible. Therefore, each product category and its constituent products united a number of core company values: quality, innovation, functionality and iconic design (see Exhibit 1). Victorinox was the largest employer 1 “Ibach-Schwyz (Switzerland), 2012,” Victorinox, www.victorinox.com/us/content/Heritage_page_default, accessed February 6, 2014. 2 Ibid., accessed March 7, 2014.

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Page 2 9B14A066 in the canton (state) of Schwyz, as well as the largest knife manufacturer in Europe. About 28,000 Swiss Army Knives and 32,000 Multi-Tools were produced daily, leading to an estimated annual total production output of six million Swiss Army Knives and seven million Multi-Tools. In addition, 60,000 household and professional knives were manufactured daily. Approximately 90 per cent of Victorinox’s total production was exported worldwide. ACQUISITION OF WENGER S.A. Since 1893, Wenger’s headquarters had been in Delémont, which is located in the northwestern corner of the French-speaking region of Switzerland. Wenger also produced multifunctional knives, posing serious competition for Victorinox. Wenger S.A. (acronym for “Société anonyme” in French, meaning “incorporated”) had quickly established a good reputation due to its innovation, precision and outstanding craftsmanship. In 1997, the company expanded its product portfolio to produce watches, which were in high demand because of their reliability and multi-functionality.3 Furthermore, the company established business relationships with various market players that allowed other producers to manufacture products under Wenger’s name. Unfortunately, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, negatively impacted the global economic and political environments as well as international relations. After 2001, Wenger, which was less diversified than Victorinox, was barely surviving due to the dramatic decrease in knife sales. This led Wenger to the brink of bankruptcy and provided an opportunity for Victorinox to become the only Swiss Army Knife producer in the world. Due diligence and negotiations took a while, but in 2005 Victorinox acquired its competitor. The “Genuine Swiss Knife” was Wenger’s most profitable product; by 2005 its knife sales totaled $16 million, followed by its watch and fragrance product lines, at $3.6 million and $9.4 million, respectively. The Swiss Army fragrance was only available in the United States and Canada. (See Exhibit 2.) VICTORINOX PRODUCT PORTFOLIO Victorinox was one of the few companies able to transfer their brand attributes of quality, innovation, functionality and iconic design to other product categories.4 The features of the company shaped the guiding concepts for its product development and market approach in its five product categories: Swiss Army Knives; household and professional cutlery; timepieces (watches); luggage (travel gear); and fashion. Despite the differences among these product categories, they had one thing in common: they were all an expression of the philosophy and values behind the legendary original “Swiss Army Knife.” They combined high quality with outstanding reliability, functionality, innovation, refinement and iconic design. The company was characterized by its broad product portfolio due to its diversification strategy.5 (See Exhibit 3.) Swiss Army Knives, Household and Professional Cutlery This product category included the original Swiss Army Knife as well as household and professional cutlery. The product range included over 360 products with up to 80 functions. Over the last few decades, Victorinox had added even more features, special functions and models such as the Swiss Champ, with 33 3 “History,” Wenger, http://int.wenger.ch/en/company/history, accessed March 7, 2014. 4 J. Melik, “Swiss Army knife adapts to remain a cutting-edge tool,” BBC, 2012, www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18005145, accessed February 2, 2014. 5 Ibid.; L. Zonco, “On the Cutting Edge,” Swiss Style, www.swissstyle.com/victorinox-cutting-edge, accessed February 3, 2014.

For the exclusive use of N. Bardawil, 2017.

This document is authorized for use only by Natalia Bardawil in Marketing Management taught by Kristin Houser, HE OTHER from August 2017 to December 2017.

Page 3 9B14A066 functions, the SwissFlash USB pocket knife, with up to 8-Gigabyte storage capacity, a pocket knife with the smallest laser pointer in the world. In addition to the original Swiss Army Knife, Victorinox produced around 540 different household and professional cutlery models mainly targeting households or professional chefs and butchers. This cutlery was of the highest quality and was ergonomically designed for ease of handling. The assorted cutlery covered a broad range of standout collections of perfectly balanced forged knives. Timepieces (Watches) For over 400 years, Switzerland had been the world’s largest manufacturer of watches. After a major crisis in the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry was able to recover its former success.6 It was estimated that the country accounted for about half of the world’s production of high-quality watches,7 among which Victorinox’s watches were a major player. Victorinox watches were carefully designed using the high standards the company was known for delivering: quality, functionality and innovative and distinctive designs.8 There were over 180 different models, divided into the following segments:  Active styles targeting dynamic people with modern, active lifestyles  Classic styles targeting sporting- and luxury-oriented customers  Professional styles targeting those who demanded the utmost in performance and functionality as well

as technically advanced movements The Swiss Army Watch brand was created and launched by Victorinox’s American partner in 1989. The Swiss Army brand enjoyed a brand awareness level of over 90 per cent in the United States. However, in other markets Victorinox enjoyed higher brand awareness for products other than watches. After integration of the Swiss Army brand into the Victorinox brand portfolio, the company used the combined name Victorinox Swiss Army, which increasingly gained international recognition and brand awareness. The manufacturing of the watches was done in the company’s own facilities, which were located in the canton of Jura, which was the heart of the Swiss watch-making region. Luggage (Travel Gear) The Victorinox luggage collections included a wide range of luggage, lifestyle bags, business cases, travel accessories, backpacks and personal leather goods. Each piece was designed to handle intensive travel and stood out for its highly developed technology, functionality and durability, all of which were core brand values of Victorinox. Under a licensing agreement, Victorinox Travel Gear was manufactured by the TRG Group, which was headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The company, which focused on quality, innovation and attention to detail,9 had been producing a wide range of luggage and bags for Victorinox since 1999. Victorinox Travel Gear brought together in a single concept the Swiss tradition of innovation, functionality and durability with models for various lifestyles, activities and tastes. The products were available in more than 90 countries throughout the world. 6 P. Feubli, E. Gachet, P. Hänggi and D. Künzi, “Swiss Watch Industry,” Credit Suisse Global Research, 2013, https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/production/pb/docs/unternehmen/kmugrossunternehmen/uhrenstudie-en.pdf, accessed February 6, 2014. 7 “Watches,” Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Presence Switzerland, www.swissworld.org/en/economy/key_sectors/watches, accessed February 3, 2014. 8 J. Pitsch, “Interview: Victorinox Timepiece Division CEO Alexander Bennouna,” Professional Watches, 2013, http://professionalwatches.com/2013/05/interview-victorinox-ceo-alexa.html, accessed February 2, 2014. 9 TRG Group, www.trgcorporate.com, accessed February 3, 2014.

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