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Swatch treats German-speaking investors to annual report in idiosyncratic Swiss dialect
The business report of the Swatch Group lies on a table during the annual balance press conference in Grenchen, Switzerland, March 6, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Keystone, Peter Schneider
BERLIN - How to show your attachment to your small Alpine country when you're a globally known watch manufacturer? Try writing your annual financial report in the local dialect impenetrable to outsiders.
Swatch Group AG, Switzerland's biggest watch maker, issued its 216-page report for 2012 Wednesday in Swiss German — an idiosyncratic form of the language that often baffles other native German speakers. Swiss films are typically shown with subtitles in neighbouring Germany.
Chairwoman Nayla Hayek said the language switch was meant as "a positive provocation" and she was confident the Swiss "will respond to this expression of our deep connection to our roots with a wink."
The company says net earnings rose 26 per cent last year to 1.61 billion francs ($1.71 billion). Revenue rose 14 per cent to 8.14 billion francs.
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