Introduction: Victorinox Head of Global Travel Retail & Fragrance Sales Gloria Dix talks about Victorinox’s flourishing female fragrance team and how the company strives to empower women to become leaders both inside and outside the organisation.
In this guest column, she also discusses the importance of diversity in travel retail and outlines her personal contributions to fighting the gender imbalance, including her participation in the upcoming ‘She’s the Negotiator’ workshop in Zürich.
Today, as women – and men – around the world celebrate International Women’s Day, we salute the incredible women worldwide who keep pushing boundaries.
Women have played an integral role at Victorinox since the very beginning. Victoria Elsener, the mother of the company founder, ran a small hat store which enabled her to grant her son a loan for founding the company back in 1884. After her death in 1909, he created Victorinox in her honour, a company name composed of his mother’s first name Victoria and Inox, the technical name for stainless steel.
At Victorinox, women always were and still are of great importance. Today they make up almost 48% of our workforce, many of them occupying senior or leadership positions. Our Executive Board consists of twelve members, four of whom are women. In principle, gender is not a decisive factor when filling a management role. It is primarily a question of personality, competence and integrity. We celebrate all Victorinox women and encourage them to elevate each other based on Victorinox’s values of respect, responsibility, courage, gratitude, trust, modesty and openness.
The female talent at Victorinox extends to all areas of the business. From those holding non-traditional female roles such as our cutler apprentice to our category heads and longest-ever serving employee of 51 years, we celebrate these women and their achievements today and every day.
A flourishing female fragrance team
Our passionate fragrance team at Victorinox works tirelessly to deliver innovation across our men’s and women’s fragrances. A shining example of the inspiring teamwork in action is our revamped ‘Heritage For Her’ fragrance line.
Created by women for women, the Heritage For Her trio is a statement of femininity. It symbolises the different facets of a woman and empowers women to accomplish anything they desire. Much like women, each of the three fragrances has a distinct character of its own, yet they are all closely intertwined:
Swiss Army For Her Ginger Lily awakens fire and spirit, inspiring women to achieve their best at work. Swiss Army For Her Apricot Rose invites women to take a break from the hectic everyday life, while Swiss Army For Her Lilac Jasmine inspires passion and a belief that everything is possible.
Diversity in travel retail
Travel retail is a global industry and diversity is at the heart of its business model. The sector is made up of different nationalities, ethnicities, languages and genders.
Over the years, it’s been encouraging to see the positive strides that have been made regarding women’s representation and their influence on the travel retail industry. Forums such as Women in Travel Retail provide women with the support and tools they need to thrive in our industry.
In 2010 I started my travel retail career at La Prairie as a young, single woman. Fast forward to 2023 and I am a married mother of a two-year-old. It’s thanks to the equal opportunities given to me by Victorinox that I have managed to advance my career alongside my personal life.
It’s a privilege to head up our Global Travel Retail and Fragrances divisions. I couldn’t be prouder to be a female leader and belong to such a dynamic women fragrance team. As a passionate advocator of equal opportunities for women, this week I’m delighted to attend the ‘She’s the Negotiator’ workshop, part of the Negotiation Conference 2023, in Zürich.
The organisers of the conference are committed to educating both male and female executives to accelerate the process of establishing diverse negotiating teams in their organisations. This year, She’s the Negotiator aims to empower women to negotiate with confidence, power and a play-to-win mentality.
As a woman and mother, I know what it’s like to juggle multiple roles and experience the many challenges that accompany these responsibilities. To quote Serena Williams; “every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.”
This story appears as part of our extensive coverage of industry activity on International Women’s Day; much more to follow. ✈
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