Saturday, September 03, 2011

Trouble in paradise as Switzerland becomes victim of own financial success...

Bijan Vafi's business should be booming. His company, Loetscher, is the world's only manufacturer of Swiss cuckoo clocks, carving elaborate chalet-style creations that are the ultimate Alpine souvenir.

But now, after more than 90 years of fashioning precision timepieces, the clock may be ticking on Loetscher's own future. "Our exports are down 38 per cent, and that's a large part of our business," said Mr Vafi, 61. "The situation is extremely fragile."

From the picturesque lakeside village of Brienz, flanked by dramatic Alpine peaks, the pretty wooden-fronted factory manufactures 30,000 clocks a year, with 40 per cent of them exported internationally. Yet the soaring Swiss franc has meant that, on the international market, his clocks are becoming rapidly more expensive.

(...)

"It's kind of a paradox," said Andre Simonazzi, a Swiss government spokesman. "We have a situation where we are suffering because the Swiss economy is strong." Full story...

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