Victorinox AG
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| Aktiengesellschaft | |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Founder | Karl Elsener and Nicholas Elsener |
| Headquarters | Ibach, Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Carl Elsener Jr. (President, CEO & Chairman) |
| Products | Swiss Army knives, cutlery, watches, travel gear, apparel, fragrances |
| Revenue | CHF 510 million (2014) |
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Number of employees
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1,850 (2014) |
| Divisions | Victorinox Swiss Army Watch SA, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland Victorinox Travel Gear AG, Ibach-Schwyz, Switzerland Victorinox SA Apparel LLC, New York, USA Victorinox Swiss Army Fragrance AG, Ibach-Schwyz, Switzerland Victorinox India Pvt. Ltd. |
| Website | www |
Victorinox (/vɪkˈtɒriˌnɒks/) is a knife manufacturer based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It is well known for its Swiss Army knives. The Swiss Army knives made by Victorinox are made of Swedish steel from Sandvik. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has become the sole supplier of multi-purpose knives to the Swiss army. It is the biggest manufacturer of pocket knives in the world; in addition, the company licenses its logo for watches, apparel, and travel gear.
The company was founded in 1884. Since 1891, the company has delivered knives to the Swiss army. Their emblem—a cross in a shield—has been used by Victorinox since 1909. That year, the mother of founder Karl Elsener died and he named the company "Victoria" in her honour. In 1921, with the addition of "inox" (abbreviation for acier inoxydable, the French term for stainless steel) into their products, the brand and name of the company became the present "Victorinox" ("Victoria"+"Inox").
In 1972, the Forschner Butcher Scale Company of New Britain, Connecticut became the exclusive Victorinox distributor for the United States. In 1981, the company went public and Charles Elsener, president of Victorinox, acquired a significant percentage of its shares. In 1983, it was renamed the Forschner Group, Inc. In the 1980s, Forschner registered the Swiss Army name as a trademark in USA. In 1992, Precise Imports Corp., U.S. and Canadian importer of Wenger knives, sued and Forschner retained the rights to use the trademark on its compasses, timepieces, and sunglasses, while Precise could use it in marketing other non-knife items. In the mid-1990s, Forschner changed its name to Swiss Army Brands, Inc. (SABI).
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Wikipedia