Sad news from victorinox

[SoDak]

Makes sense I guess. I'm also glad I picked up some vic stuff a while back. I took advantage of amazon sales as well and at the time I wasn't sure if buying 3 rangers or 4 farmers at once made sense. Now after seeing what the knives cost today, I feel like it was money well spent.

[thebullfrog]

Yeah, the new prices have really driven me away from Vic already. With my budget I honestly just can't afford much from them any more. Unfortunately the next time I buy tools my money may very well be going to someone else (and I really wanted a Spirit X), or I'll get the stuff used which means Vic still doesn't get my income. I really hope they aren't shooting themselves in the foot with this.

[Dunc]

I agree, I will just buy less. their knives are not very competative. For example I can find waves on amazon for 57 new and swiss tools are pushing 100 everywhere.

When did this happen??? This thread got me looking around and I am genuinely surprised by vic prices. Now I wish I would have picked up a workchamp when they were in the $50 range. Man I've been out of the loop on this stuff.

Here in the Uk LMs are more expensive on the high street . A Wave comes in around £89- £99 and a Spirit  about £70 - £80 . Maybe Whitby are more greedy then Burton McCall .

[Neil]

..I really did think the "kids" were gonna grab hold of the SAK as a must have.

The problem with this is many of the places "kids" frequent these days prohibit knives of any kind.

Just to clarify, by "kids" I mean 20 somethings.

You've got some really good ideas there   Unfortunately at least in many countries its not going to happen.  A SAK over here is seen by too many (not all) people as a knife first and tool second.  And due to the slant of media coverage over the last few years a knife is seen by those people as being a weapon.  Yes this even applies to little SAKs.  A SAK is something that has to be used very discreetly in public.

Even if public perception could be changed, which isn't impossible, there are enough places that don't allow anything pointy or sharp that to some carrying a SAK would be an inconvenience not a help.

At present in the UK pocket carrying a SAK or similar is fast going the way of pipe smoking.  I suspect very soon it just won't happen at all.  If I was Victorinox I wouldn't be looking at how to expand my market, I'd be looking at making something else entirely.

[Mr. Whippy]

..I really did think the "kids" were gonna grab hold of the SAK as a must have.

The problem with this is many of the places "kids" frequent these days prohibit knives of any kind.

Just to clarify, by "kids" I mean 20 somethings.

You've got some really good ideas there   Unfortunately at least in many countries its not going to happen.  A SAK over here is seen by too many (not all) people as a knife first and tool second.  And due to the slant of media coverage over the last few years a knife is seen by those people as being a weapon.  Yes this even applies to little SAKs.  A SAK is something that has to be used very discreetly in public.

Even if public perception could be changed, which isn't impossible, there are enough places that don't allow anything pointy or sharp that to some carrying a SAK would be an inconvenience not a help.

At present in the UK pocket carrying a SAK or similar is fast going the way of pipe smoking.  I suspect very soon it just won't happen at all.  If I was Victorinox I wouldn't be looking at how to expand my market, I'd be looking at making something else entirely.

That may be one of the saddest things I've read in a while. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

..I really did think the "kids" were gonna grab hold of the SAK as a must have.

The problem with this is many of the places "kids" frequent these days prohibit knives of any kind.

Just to clarify, by "kids" I mean 20 somethings.

You've got some really good ideas there   Unfortunately at least in many countries its not going to happen.  A SAK over here is seen by too many (not all) people as a knife first and tool second.  And due to the slant of media coverage over the last few years a knife is seen by those people as being a weapon.  Yes this even applies to little SAKs.  A SAK is something that has to be used very discreetly in public.

Even if public perception could be changed, which isn't impossible, there are enough places that don't allow anything pointy or sharp that to some carrying a SAK would be an inconvenience not a help.

At present in the UK pocket carrying a SAK or similar is fast going the way of pipe smoking.  I suspect very soon it just won't happen at all.  If I was Victorinox I wouldn't be looking at how to expand my market, I'd be looking at making something else entirely.

That may be one of the saddest things I've read in a while. 

That certainly does sound depressing

[scrappy]

Thing is, like was said earlier, a lot of people never actually buy Vic stuff from B&M places. Somebody mentioned it before and I agree, I see the stuff sit there for many months or years. Working in retail for over ten years in several places that sell Vic stuff, I never once personally saw a single Vic item go out the door. All the places I've worked would stock only a couple on the shelf, and keep fewer and fewer on hand as time goes by. Leatherman stuff flies off the shelf, but people seem to either see SAK's as "old fashioned", just not "gadgety" enough, or more often than not they just can't differentiate between the real thing and the countless knock-offs. So many people have tried and been disappointed with knock-offs they never want to buy a SAK again, especially bad since usually they think the knockoff they had WAS the real thing. It seems the people who know the difference tend to buy the stuff online for the cheaper prices, and far far better availability (I have NEVER seen a Cybertool or many other models in a B&M), if this policy kills a lot of internet business it could be a real problem for them.

It must be different in utah. Maybe because of the outdoor theme... I buy gads of big ticket swiss items like swiss tool cyber tools and champs. These guys will probably still stock but the hardware store won't and I buy from them also.

[scrappy]

The swiss champ on my key chain came from a brick and mortar store.
I suspect as the cat man said, this happened months ago but as the on hand stock ran out we are now seeing the affects here in the US. Here in the US we are used to much more competitive prices and this will hurt vic sales.

[thebullfrog]

I have yet to find a single retailer, outdoors related or not that stocks the Swisstool, or even heard of it in many cases. The best you can find from Vic around here is maybe a Farmer. If it weren't for the internet distributors and MTO, I wouldn't even know 85% of Vics models even existed.

[scrappy]

Crazy, I have seen them in fred meyer, sam's club, costco, and three independent cutlery stores.

[thebullfrog]

The joys of living in a  fairly dense suburban area a short drive from Chicago lol. What's odd is people around here aren't really sheeple per say, but not overly DIY outdoorsy either. Most people are outdoorsy enough to not care when you walk around wielding a big-ass tactical folder, but sheeply enough that nobody really buys knives or MTs either. People don't look twice when they see someone with a gun, but at the same time would never think of owning one themselves. As a result we have a ton of places that sell outdoors stuff, MT's, knives, etc, but the selection and pricing is horrendous. It's nice because I don't have to worry about what I decide to carry around or use anywhere, but at the same time the only place I can buy anything is the internet.

[glorn]

I do think the US is where the "SAK craze" (if it were to happen) would have to take place. The SAK fits so many US trends right now that it isn't even funny. All it would take is a few tweaks (more cellidor colors, maybe a custom option) and some very basic but well targeted marketing.

For example, look at how Sharpie is marketed in the US. A great example of what is actually essentially just an office supply item turned into a "must have" pop culture juggernaut.

And a SAK has so much more appeal than a permanent marker.

But when Sharpie rolled out the stainless steel model.. it was handed out to celebrities with a lot of media coverage.

Hell, they were using David Beckham in the TV spots.

[Mr. Whippy]

I do think the US is where the "SAK craze" (if it were to happen) would have to take place. The SAK fits so many US trends right now that it isn't even funny. All it would take is a few tweaks (more cellidor colors, maybe a custom option) and some very basic but well targeted marketing.

For example, look at how Sharpie is marketed in the US. A great example of what is actually essentially just an office supply item turned into a "must have" pop culture juggernaut.

And a SAK has so much more appeal than a permanent marker.

But when Sharpie rolled out the stainless steel model.. it was handed out to celebrities with a lot of media coverage.

Hell, they were using David Beckham in the TV spots.

This is exactly it.   Put in the tools needed to open an ipod to replace batteries, eyeglasses, open a DVD drive, press little plastic tabs, open remote control battery panels, HDMI cable puller, clamshell package opener, that sort of thing.

BTW, leatherman seems to be doing quite well marketing to the young Americans...

[trailmaster]

bringing this thread back, i spent the last few days in munich, and i was very happy to see a number of places carrying some types of saks and guess what, everything was newer models, nothing left there for ages. i also visited a small but apparently busy store in marienplatz with victorinox (a more or less complete line and a heritage model on offer) and other knives, and to my joy, there were a number of folks there looking at saks and buying, germans and tourists. I was happy to see really lots of people stopping by. I bought a spartan with bayern scales. seems there are indeed people who still buy saks!

[Gareth]

That sounds very promising trailmaster.

[Jmora]

bringing this thread back, i spent the last few days in munich, and i was very happy to see a number of places carrying some types of saks and guess what, everything was newer models, nothing left there for ages. i also visited a small but apparently busy store in marienplatz with victorinox (a more or less complete line and a heritage model on offer) and other knives, and to my joy, there were a number of folks there looking at saks and buying, germans and tourists. I was happy to see really lots of people stopping by. I bought a spartan with bayern scales. seems there are indeed people who still buy saks!

I've visited that same shop in Marienplatz every now and again. I think around here SAKs are more in use than Leathermans, as the latter are so expensive here, whereas SAKs are relatively cheap.

[Mr. Whippy]

bringing this thread back, i spent the last few days in munich, and i was very happy to see a number of places carrying some types of saks and guess what, everything was newer models, nothing left there for ages. i also visited a small but apparently busy store in marienplatz with victorinox (a more or less complete line and a heritage model on offer) and other knives, and to my joy, there were a number of folks there looking at saks and buying, germans and tourists. I was happy to see really lots of people stopping by. I bought a spartan with bayern scales. seems there are indeed people who still buy saks!

I've visited that same shop in Marienplatz every now and again. I think around here SAKs are more in use than Leathermans, as the latter are so expensive here, whereas SAKs are relatively cheap.

It's the transportation costs. 

[Reinier]

bringing this thread back, i spent the last few days in munich, and i was very happy to see a number of places carrying some types of saks and guess what, everything was newer models, nothing left there for ages. i also visited a small but apparently busy store in marienplatz with victorinox (a more or less complete line and a heritage model on offer) and other knives, and to my joy, there were a number of folks there looking at saks and buying, germans and tourists. I was happy to see really lots of people stopping by. I bought a spartan with bayern scales. seems there are indeed people who still buy saks!

Not extremely on topic, but I was in Cochem a couple of days ago and there were 5, maybe 6 stores selling Victorinox SAKs in the main street only! With almost all current models (including e.g. the new Classic patterns, OHO stuff, etc.).

I bought 2 German flag Spartans (Na klar! Deutschland!, 1 red, 1 white)

[trailmaster]

many places selling at least some SAKs is one of the things i like in Germany. there is hardly any city i have been without a shop selling at least a small range of them. but that shop was a real surprise because of the number of people interested in seeing/buying SAKs right in the center of Munich. and current models indicate that the stock moves. I am used to asking a bored shop owner to buy a sak i consider interesting and in many cases he hasn't sold one for ages, but that was not the case there. I like seeing people buying and actually carrying SAKs so... even my girlfriend commented on how many people are interested in Victorinox there. as she said, we are usually looking for SAKs, here they are everywhere.

apart from the spartan, i got a half liter ballistol, because my stock is low and I don't find it locally (I don't know of someone selling it here), so I saved the shipping costs of ordering online.

munich was an overall great experience. I had been about 10 times in Germany and a couple in Bayern in particular but never in Munich itself, so I had to visit eventually. needless to say, great beer and food. I was stupid of neglecting to visit on previous occasions and I will return.

anyway, on topic, let's hope Victorinox is right this time too with their decision to terminate the distributors program, and that SAKs will continue to flourish! The ones I have are not enough!

[sawman]

That is some very positive news TM, and I too value our local shops here in the states that sell Vics.  I'd like to point something out though - as many of us are taking this news as a bad thing, remember Vic can always go back to using distributors if this does not work in their best interest    I could only assume Vic uses any extra income from this venture to innovate and offer us some of the features we've been asking for here on MTO 

[thebullfrog]

Those sound like some pretty cool stores/vendors over there. I have never seen anything like that over here around me anyway. Vic stuff of any selection is impossible to find beyond the two or three items at Wal Mart, Target, etc. Even the sporting goods stores by me only carry a couple token items.