Has Victorinox "lost their way"?
- Thread starter fuyume
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snuffle
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Yeah, same, but I'm really only in it for the wild-eyed shouting and the stabbing.
jdswitters
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Amen
jdswitters
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and that was when I quit watching.
See! Even worse. You buy one pack and are set for life. Generates zero revenue.
S-30-V has double the edge retention of 1.4110. Victorinox is a much bigger company than Buck, so it could realize the economies of scale associated with volume production.
SwissHeritageCo
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Yeah but the next time I buy pens I'm going out of my way to get the exact same bics.
Kind of pricey. You should pull a Lincoln and do your homework on a shovel using a charred stick.
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Itās easier to complain than it is to run a company.
The general sentiment Jon Gadget gives is that he feels neglected and abandoned by a company that hasnāt produced something new, in the narrow band of what heās looking for, in 3 years.
The companyās been around for 127 years. The fact that they came up with a meaningful new tool at all is impressive. Try to think up a new tool! Thatās exceedingly difficult. Then he picks apart the marketing? Give me a break. What self respecting knife guy is going to read the sales pitch and take any of it seriously? Express my femininity? Who cares, Iāll just swap the scales to red. Or better yet, just wait- the package opener will be on a red knife before long.
that video is what someone makes when theyāre not being given enough to talk about, so he invents a problem people are sure to pile on to, which boosts his payout. Itās so easy to twist people from āoh I wish they wouldā¦ā into āthey owe it to us toā¦ā.
Agree with him all you want, but heās just manipulating you and others into believing thereās a legitimate issue where none exists. The guyās got more Swiss Army Knives than the actual Swiss Army. Heās jonesing for his next fix so he can make a new video to generate views.
And there it is. At least you can admit that it was a bad pitch. I'll give you some respect for that.
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most knife sales pitches are stupid, and the company has to make them. Only a fool reads them and goes, āhey, thatās me!ā and reaches for their credit card. Most of us buy these things in spite of the blurbs.
Hereās the Tinker pitch:
Change the Phillips to a cork screw and make it 84mm? Hereās the pitch for the tourist:
Itās all dumb. Does -7mm and a corkscrew really make you better at being the captain of every journey? what self-respecting knife aficionado reads that stuff and thinks itās legitimate, or describes them and what they want to accomplish?
He can be mad theyāre marketing towards women (and/or feminine identity whatever), but they might actually have identified a group that they can cater to and boost sales. (Iām on what, 10 SAKs already?) Jon Gadgetās just feeling really left out that, for once, he doesnāt identify with the group theyāre targeting.
The hubris of people who donāt understand the innate sampling bias of comments generated by a video which is geared towards knife knuts is outstanding. To believe weāre always Victorinoxās biggest concern comes from an overinflated sense of self-importance.
Itād be like me getting mad they make a golf tool because itās just for golfers, and I hate golf.
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Credit to
Rupestris
for locating the article. Read into it how you will, but to me it seems like times have been tough and Victorinox saw it's way through.
You might forgive them for not being the most ground breaking knife company over the past 3 years.
Rupestris
for locating the article. Read into it how you will, but to me it seems like times have been tough and Victorinox saw it's way through.You might forgive them for not being the most ground breaking knife company over the past 3 years.
Interesting article. Victorinox has made a great recovery except in the U.S. market, which I find strange. Or maybe not, since most stores have gobs of those tactical knives in the case and few SAK's in stock. Maybe the U.S. knife market is too deep in fantasy for SAK's to sell well?Credit to
You might forgive them for not being the most ground breaking knife company over the past 3 years.
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I just think it comes and goes in waves. the excitement for the next big thing will ebb after a while and people will once again yearn for the days of simplicity and trustworthy products. (a real "Field of Dreams" moment, there)
It might also have to do with supply issues- it seems like many SAK options aren't in stock at the moment.
I know this, of course... because I'm shopping for another SAK. All this talk about how Victorinox is a let down has me thirsty for one with a saw on it.
Wild Willie
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It's still old news to the real steel snobs, and it can't be sharpened on traditional stones that are probably what most Vic users have available.
I'm well aware of how economy of scale works, and that victorinox is bigger than buck. Buck however, tries to target the edged tool enthusiasts. Their tooling and heat treatment protocol have already been dialed in, and associated costs have likely been out of mind for some time.
Maybe, maybe not. I don't think there are ebbs and flows in the sales of SAK's, like there is in the knife nut world, where they all are going to buy the next 'big' thing'. They want the latest super steel of the month and any minor deign change in a lock that makes a bit different and therefor "better". I don't think, aside from the obsessive fan boys on this forum, that SAK buyers are repeat buyers as long as they have one.
My father in law, Bill, was a perfect example. Bill had a beat up old Wenger SAK, and he took it on his canoe trips, camping trips, and day to day. He never bought another knife because he had his SAK. Like a lot of themes from his generation, he had that one pocket knife, and unless it was broken, lost, or stolen, he didn't need to go buy another one. Bill was a meteorologist for the U.S. weather service and specialized in hurricane study. He went on expeditions to study weather phenomenon all over the world and that SAK most likely had 500,000 miles on it. Even after he retired to a little house on the intercostal waterway to indulge his passion for sailing, his SAK was in his pocket. he did after 30 years or so wear it out, so he bought a new Victorinox. That one was with him till the end. That was it, two SAK's in the course of his life. All the camping and traveling Bill did, he knew he needed a pocket knife, so he bought one. One. Not exactly a repeat buyer to count on.
I think the bulk of SAK buyers are like that. They need a pocket knife, so they go into a sports store, look around, and there is all the nice shiny red handle SAK's hanging on the peg. So they pick one. They now have a 'knife'. They are content. Being on this forum it's easy to get a veery perverted view of knives, and the knife world. But we, the forum members, make up maybe about 1% of the knife buying public. We are the obsessed, the fan boys that the rest of society thinks is 'weird' and they are right. Hell, most of urban society doesn't even carry a knife anymore. And they make dinner using the 3.99 made in China kitchen knife from the utility isle at the supermarket because they don't care about knives. They use Bic pens, drive Toyota Corolla or Honda Civics, and get by just fine.
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I was more referring to the other things that distract the public, not just knives.
People will start going camping again, losing things on vacation again, wanting different tools, becoming aware of new options.
Looking for birthday gifts, companies buying anniversary gifts, companies having swag SAKs made... I think things have slowed down in general for a while, but it's going to come back.
I agree with you- the average Joe probably buys one, but there's 385,000 new average Joes born every day.
jdswitters
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Do you have a 7 yet?
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No, I don't- I was eying one, but then I noticed the
I like alox models, and I have a couple now, but I find I actually miss having the scale tools and the back tools (at the very least, the corkscrew, which is tremendously helpful getting knots out of fishing line).
But I don't know why I'm bothering, Victorinox doesn't even say hi to me anymore.
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No, I don't- I was eying one, but then I noticed the Trekker and Hunter models. I've been debating between those two.
I like alox models, and I have a couple now, but I find I actually miss having the scale tools and the back tools (at the very least, the corkscrew, which is tremendously helpful getting knots out of fishing line).
But I don't know why I'm bothering, Victorinox doesn't even say hi to me anymore.
Don't feel bad, I haven't got a Christmas card from them in decades!
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