Speech by W. Brütsch jun. on the production of the 20,000th BERNINA sewing machine (1937)

Speech by Willi Brütsch on the occasion of the production of the 20,000th BERNINA sewing machine in October 1937.
In 1932, the Swiss textile machine manufacturer BERNINA - then called Fritz Gegauf Söhne - launched its first household sewing machine, the "BERNINA Klasse 105" model. With the start of production, the company took an entrepreneurial risk. Previously, it had manufactured hemstitch sewing machines for industrial use. With the global economic crisis following the stock market crash in 1929, the decline of the textile industry in Europe and the high taxes imposed by foreign countries on Swiss imports, the hemstitching business could not be continued successfully. With the development and production of a sewing machine for home users, company owner Fritz Gegauf sought a way out of the crisis, targeting the Swiss market. At the time, this market was dominated by German and American brands.
The venture was a success. The new machine, built according to plans by St. Gallen designer Wilhelm Brütsch, prevailed against foreign competition and laid the foundation for BERNINA's subsequent global success. Wilhelm's son Willi Brütsch, who organised the distribution of the machine in Switzerland, played a major role in the company's success in its home market of Switzerland by building up a strong network of sales representatives and using housework teachers as influencers.
In 1931, almost 24,000 foreign household sewing machines were imported into Switzerland, according to Brütsch Junior in his speech on shellac disc. Five years later, at the time of his speech, BERNINA had captured half of the market share.
An example of how the "BERNINA Class 105" was advertised in Switzerland is the song, which was pressed onto the same disc as Brütsch's patriotic speech: • Das BERNINA Lied von 1937