Helvetica Brands

Dec 19, 2016

Investment The Jura-based Helvetica Brands Group is known for the SWIZA pocket knife and watches. FIDES Business Partner in Zurich joined the board of directors and became the majority shareholder. This fresh capital enables Helvetica Brands to invest in new machines, hire skilled workers, open new markets and allocate the necessary resources to research and development. This influx of capital enables Helvetica Brands – which is active in knives, watches, clocks and luggage – to move up a gear. As CEO Peter Hug declares, «thanks to the new resources available since this capital increase, we can invest even more in developing our products and expanding our worldwide distribution network.». The brand’s priorities include investment in new machines and increased production capacity for the famous SWIZA Swiss knife, including by hiring skilled workers in the region. As well as operational improvement at head office, Helvetica Brands aims to consolidate its strategy to enter new markets, beginning with Asia in 2017. This ambitious young company will invest in research and development, ensuring its products are geared towards the specific expectations of its different target markets, and the creation of a strong R&D division is a key element of this new strategy. A Swiss investor with a view to the long term Based in Switzerland with offices in Austria and India, FIDES Business Partner is an investment company with a strategy of long-term value creation through investments in mid-sized companies. FIDES Business Partner brings capital as well as assistance in developing organisational and operational solutions. Helvetica Brands can count on an experienced partner to meet its growth objectives. SWIZA was introduced to FIDES by B&B Wealth Solutions AG. Two of FIDES’ partners join founders Peter Hug and Florian Lachat on the board of directors, now with four members. Says René Steiner, Managing Partner at FIDES Business Partner and new majority investor: «We have invested in Helvetica Brands Group SA (SWIZA) because it imagines and makes innovative, iconic products. We are convinced by its business model and by the people behind the company. We are equally confident that we can bring strategic and operational value to Helvetica Brands, particularly in its projects to expand into Asia thanks to our office in India. Our goal is to help the brand prosper and grow in the long term.» Helvetica Brands Group SA & SWIZA Established three years ago by Peter Hug (CEO) and Jura-based entrepreneur Florian Lachat, Helvetica Brands has achieved the exploit of reviving the hundred-year-old SWIZA brand. It presented its wrist watch collection at Baselworld in 2015, followed in autumn that same year by the launch of a new Swiss pocket knife, a success in terms of sales that also took the media by storm. This young company, which employs 24 staff and is present in 40 markets through 1,500 points of sale, just a year after launching the SWIZA knife, is now moving up a gear. (Press release)