Discover Germany | Special Theme | Successful Start-ups, Switzerland
A new age of rock ’n’ roll made in Switzerland Since the age of 16, Silvan Küng and Pirmin Giger have been close friends with a shared passion for music and guitars. But when they realised that the guitarmaking construction industry had been at a standstill for more than 60 years, they decided it was time to revolutionise not only the guitar market at home in Switzerland, but the music industry worldwide. Thus, their successful start-up company Relish Guitars war born.
to countless new ‘stars’ on various social media platforms,” continues Küng. “These usually have an incredible following and impressingly large fan communities. Because they have so much influence, they should not be underestimated.”
TEXT: SONJA IRANI I PHOTOS: RELISH GUITARS
A change leads to a chance
“When we launched our business in 2012, the guitar market had been dominated by two guitar-making giants for over 60 years: Fender and Gibson,” says co-founder Silvan Küng in our interview. “The heroes of our childhood and teenage years have all played their music on guitars from either one of these two brands.” Although these brands still have a large influence 88 | Issue 46 | January 2017
on the industry today, there is a noticeable trend towards creatively thinking guitar-making brands that offer fresh innovations, limited or special collections as well as high-quality workmanship. At the same time, the music industry as a whole is undergoing huge changes. “Young people today do not only know and admire the guitar legends of the past, but look up
The market conditions for guitars have changed considerably, too. “These days, there are too many guitars which are offered at a very low price, thus generating a higher pressure on margins. At the same time, more and more people buy guitars online, which means that many offline shops are no longer able to compete.” However, this change represented a chance to Relish Guitars. “We believe that