Martin Hänggi

Not all Davos locals are happy about the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting being hosted in their town. Martin Hänggi, the owner of an organic food store, is one of them. (Kristian Kapp, swissinfo.ch) 

“I see all the profit that many people here make from the WEF. But the meeting is not a total blessing,” Hänggi, 48, told swissinfo.ch. 

Hänggi is an active ice skater who gives skating lessons to local budding ice hockey players. In addition to the organic food store, he runs a fitness club. 

“The shop is an oasis. It helped me to build my life here in Davos,” he explains. “Financially, it doesn’t bring in much, though.” 

During the annual WEF meeting, he has few clients passing through his door. “I don’t have many spontaneous customers, especially not the people attending the forum. The shop is not on their path. I’m slightly off the beaten track,” he explains. 

But Hänggi has a more critical view of the annual meeting. “I think we could live without the WEF. Without the WEF we would start to think differently.”