Privacy policy

1. Introduction

1.1. Company Information

Kandes GmbH
Im Unterrengg 19
8135 Langnau am Albis
Switzerland
Email: info@kandes.ch
Phone:+41 (0) 76 673 7211
Website: www.kandes.ch

1.2. Purpose of the Policy

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you about how Kandes GmbH ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you visit our website or purchase our products. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is protected. This policy outlines our practices and your rights regarding your personal information, ensuring compliance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). Additionally, while we are governed by Swiss regulations, we apply principles from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a courtesy to our European Union customers and to adopt best practices in data protection.

2: Data Controller

2.1. Identity and Contact Details

The data controller responsible for the processing of your personal data is:

Kandes GmbH
Im Unterrengg 19
8135 Langnau am Albis
Switzerland
Email: info@kandes.ch
Phone:+41 (0) 76 673 7211
Websites: www.kandes.ch

3: Data Collection

3.1. Types of Data Collected

To provide our services and improve your experience, Kandes GmbH collects various types of personal data. The data we collect includes:

Personal Identification Information: This includes your name, email address, phone number, and other contact details that you provide when creating an account, placing an order, subscribing to our newsletter, or contacting us.
Payment Details: We collect payment information such as credit card details, billing addresses, and transaction details to process your orders securely. Payment information is processed through secure payment gateways and is not stored on our servers.
Order History and Preferences: We keep records of your purchase history, products you have shown interest in, and your preferences to enhance your shopping experience and provide personalized recommendations.
Technical Information: This includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, and other technical data that is automatically collected when you visit our website. This helps us improve the functionality, security, and performance of our site.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to track your activity on our website. This helps us understand how you use our site, remember your preferences, and provide a more personalized experience. For more details, please refer to our Cookie Policy.
Communication Data: Records of our correspondence with you, including any information you provide when you contact us for support or customer service.

4: Legal Basis for Processing

Kandes GmbH processes your personal data based on one or more of the following legal grounds:

4.1. Consent

We obtain your consent before processing your personal data for specific purposes, such as sending you marketing communications or using cookies and similar tracking technologies. Consent is obtained through clear affirmative actions, such as checking a box during account creation, order placement, or accepting cookies when you first visit our website. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe link provided in our communications. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

4.2. Contractual Necessity

We process your personal data to fulfill our contractual obligations to you. This includes processing your orders, managing your account, providing customer service, and delivering products and services you have requested.

4.3. Legal Obligations

We process your personal data to comply with legal requirements. This may include processing your data for tax and accounting purposes, responding to legal requests, and maintaining records required by law.

4.4. Legitimate Interests

We process your personal data based on our legitimate business interests. These interests include improving our services, personalizing your shopping experience, preventing fraud, ensuring the security of our website, conducting marketing activities, and responding to inquiries from potential customers. When processing data based on legitimate interests, we conduct a balancing test to ensure that your rights and interests are not overridden.

5: Purpose of Data Processing

Kandes GmbH processes your personal data for various purposes to provide and improve our services. The specific purposes for which we process your personal data include:

5.1. Order Processing and Fulfillment

We process your personal data to manage and fulfill your orders. This includes processing payment information, coordinating shipping and delivery, handling customs procedures, managing returns and exchanges, and communicating with you about your orders.

5.2. Customer Service

We use your personal data to respond to your inquiries, provide customer support, and resolve any issues you may have. This includes communication via email, phone, or other channels when you contact our customer service team.

5.3. Marketing and Promotions

With your explicit consent, we process your personal data to send you newsletters, special offers, promotions, and information about new products or services. You can opt-out of receiving marketing communications at any time.

5.4. Personalization

We process your personal data to customize your experience on our website. This includes providing personalized product recommendations, tailoring content to your interests, and enhancing your overall shopping experience.

5.5. Analytics

We use your personal data to analyze website usage and improve our services. This includes monitoring website performance, understanding user behavior, and making data-driven decisions to enhance our products and services.

6: Data Retention

6.1. Retention Period

Kandes GmbH retains your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes, for which it was collected, as described in this Privacy Policy. The retention period for personal data is determined based on the following criteria:

Legal Requirements: We retain personal data for the duration required by applicable laws and regulations.
Contractual Obligations: We retain personal data for the period necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations to you.
Business Purposes: We retain personal data for specific and legitimate business purposes, such as improving our services, conducting marketing activities (with your consent), and maintaining accurate business and financial records. These purposes are reviewed periodically to ensure their relevance and necessity.

In general, we will retain your personal data for a minimum period of 5 years after your last interaction with us, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

6.2. Data Deletion

Once your personal data is no longer needed for the purposes, for which it was collected, and unless we are required by law to retain it for a longer period, we will securely delete or anonymize your personal data. Our data deletion procedures include:

Automated Systems: We use automated systems to identify and delete personal data that is no longer needed.
Manual Review: In cases where automated deletion is not feasible, we conduct manual reviews to ensure data is properly deleted or anonymized.
Secure Deletion Methods: We use secure deletion methods to ensure that personal data is irretrievably deleted and cannot be recovered.

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data at any time. To exercise this right, please contact us using the contact details provided in this Privacy Policy. We will respond to your request in accordance with Swiss data protection and GDPR laws and regulations.

7: Data Security

7.1. Measures Taken

Kandes GmbH is committed to ensuring the security of your personal data. We implement a variety of technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption technologies provided by Shopify. Shopify uses SSL/TLS encryption to protect data in transit and AES-256 encryption for data at rest.
Access Controls: Access to your personal data is restricted to authorized personnel who need the information to perform their job duties. Access is granted based on the principle of least privilege.
Secure Storage: Our e-commerce platform, Shopify, securely stores your personal data. Shopify’s servers are located in data centers with high security standards, ensuring your data is protected. You can find more information about Shopify's security practices here.
Employee Training: Our employees receive regular training on data protection and security best practices to ensure they handle your personal data securely.

7.2. Data Breach Procedures

In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, Kandes GmbH has established procedures to respond promptly and effectively. These steps include:

Immediate Action: We will take immediate steps to contain and mitigate the impact of the data breach.
Assessment: We will assess the nature and scope of the breach to understand the potential impact on your personal data.
Notification: If the breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the relevant data protection authorities without undue delay. The notification will include information about the nature of the breach, the likely consequences, and the measures taken or proposed to address the breach.
Investigation and Remediation: We will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the breach and implement measures to prevent future incidents.

8: Data Subject Rights

Kandes GmbH is committed to ensuring that you can exercise your rights regarding your personal data. Under Swiss data protection laws and in line with GDPR principles, you have the following rights:

8.1. Access

You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you. This includes the right to obtain information about the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned, the recipients or categories of recipients to whom your personal data has been or will be disclosed, and the envisaged period for which the personal data will be stored.

8.2. Rectification

You have the right to request the correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us to update your information.

8.3. Deletion

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data under certain conditions. This right applies where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes, for which it was collected, if you withdraw consent on which processing is based, if you object to the processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, if the data has been unlawfully processed, or if the data must be erased to comply with a legal obligation.

8.4. Restriction

You have the right to request the restriction of processing your personal data under certain conditions. This means that your data will be marked and processed only for specific purposes. This right applies if you contest the accuracy of the personal data, if the processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of the data, if we no longer need the data for processing but it is required by you for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims, or if you have objected to processing pending the verification of whether our legitimate grounds override yours.

8.5. Portability

You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you, which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. You also have the right to transmit this data to another controller without hindrance from us, where technically feasible.

8.6. Objection

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of your personal data which is based on legitimate interests. We will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

8.7. Consent Withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided in this Privacy Policy. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Article 9: Data Transfers

9.1. Third-Party Transfers

Kandes GmbH may share your personal data with third parties for various purposes, including:

Service Providers: We share data with service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, order fulfillment, shipping, marketing, and customer support. These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your personal data and use it only for the purposes specified by us.
Business Partners: We may share data with our business partners to offer you certain products, services, or promotions. These partners are also required to comply with data protection laws and safeguard your personal data.
Legal and Regulatory Requirements: We may disclose your personal data to comply with legal obligations, including customs requirements, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, or protect our rights and interests.
Authorised Distributor (Hochwert GmbH): Hochwert GmbH (Switzerland) is our official distribution partner for parts of the Swiss market, namely the cantons of Zürich (ZH), Zug (ZG), Lucerne (LU) and Schwyz (SZ), where it handles customer enquiries and operates a showroom. Where your enquiry or appointment request relates to those cantons, we forward the contact details you provide (such as your name, email, phone number and company) and the content of your enquiry to Hochwert so that it can follow up with you directly, including to arrange a showroom appointment. We do this because it is necessary to handle the enquiry you have asked us to deal with and in our legitimate interest in connecting you with the authorised local distributor; you may object at any time by contacting us. Hochwert acts as an independent controller and uses your personal data in accordance with its own privacy notice; objecting with us stops any further forwarding but does not undo what Hochwert has already received, so to have data already shared with Hochwert deleted please contact Hochwert directly.

9.2. International Transfers

Kandes GmbH operates internationally, and your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside of Switzerland and the European Union, including countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home country. When we transfer your personal data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data. These safeguards include:

Adequacy Decisions: We may transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) or the European Commission.
Standard Contractual Clauses: For transfers to countries without an adequacy decision, we use standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or the FDPIC to ensure your personal data is adequately protected.
Binding Corporate Rules: Where applicable, we may implement binding corporate rules to govern data transfers within our group of companies.

By using our services and providing your personal data, you consent to the transfer of your data to third parties and internationally, as described in this Privacy Policy. We take all necessary steps to ensure that your personal data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.

10: Use of Cookies and Tracking Technologies

10.1. Types of Cookies Used

Kandes GmbH uses various types of cookies and tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience on our website. These include:

Required
These cookies are essential for the website to function properly. They include security, network management, and accessibility features. Without these cookies, some parts of our website may not work as intended.
Personalization
These cookies store details about your actions and preferences (e.g., language choices) to provide a personalized experience when you return to the website.
Marketing
These cookies are used to deliver relevant advertisements based on your interests, limit the number of times you see an ad, and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. This may include cookies from social media platforms that track your activity across websites and allow you to share content.
Analytics
These cookies help us understand how you interact with the site, by collecting anonymous information about how visitors use the website. This data helps us improve website performance.

10.2. Purpose of Cookies

We use cookies and tracking technologies for the following purposes:

To Ensure Website Functionality: Strictly necessary cookies are crucial to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features, such as secure areas.
To Improve Performance: Performance cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously.
To Enhance User Experience: Functionality cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization based on your interactions and preferences.
To Deliver Relevant Advertising: Targeting cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests.
To Analyze Usage: Analytical cookies help us to analyze and understand how our website is used and how well it performs.
To Facilitate Social Sharing: Social media cookies allow you to share our content with your friends and networks via social media platforms.

10.3. Cookie Management

You can manage your cookie preferences and opt-out of certain types of cookies through the settings in your web browser. Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. Here’s how you can manage cookies in some popular browsers:

Google Chrome: Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data. You can block or allow cookies here.
Mozilla Firefox: Go to Options > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data. You can manage cookies settings here.
Microsoft Edge: Go to Settings > Site permissions > Cookies and site data. You can manage and clear cookies here.
Safari: Go to Preferences > Privacy. You can block cookies or manage your cookie settings here.

You can also use tools like Your Online Choices or Network Advertising Initiative to manage your preferences for online behavioral advertising.

Please note that if you disable certain types of cookies, some parts of our website may not function correctly, or your experience may be impacted.

10.4. Advertising, Retargeting and Analytics Technologies

To promote our products, measure our advertising and understand how our website is used, we work with third-party advertising and analytics providers that place cookies and similar technologies (such as pixels and tags) on your device. Several of these are used for retargeting (also called remarketing) — that is, to show you our advertising on other websites, apps and social media platforms after you have visited our website, and to measure whether those ads lead to a purchase or enquiry. These providers currently include:

Meta Pixel and Conversions API (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd.): used to measure, target and retarget our advertising on Facebook and Instagram. These tools collect information about how you interact with our website, such as your IP address, device and browser information, the pages and products you view, and Meta cookie identifiers; the Conversions API may also send Meta a hashed, pseudonymised version of information such as your email address to measure conversions. For the collection and transmission of this data, Kandes GmbH and Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. act as joint controllers under Article 26 GDPR and Meta’s Controller Addendum (Kandes: on-site collection, transmission and obtaining your consent; Meta: its own subsequent processing); the essence of this arrangement is available on request and you may exercise your rights against either party.
Google Ads (Google Ireland Ltd.): used to measure the performance of our advertising and, through Google’s remarketing features, to show you relevant ads across Google Search, YouTube, and websites and apps in Google’s network. It collects information such as online and cookie identifiers, your IP address, device and browser information, and the pages and products you view on our website.
Google Analytics 4 (Google Ireland Ltd.): used to understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it; it collects usage and device data associated with online identifiers.
Pinterest Tag (Pinterest Europe Ltd.): used to measure and retarget our advertising on Pinterest. It collects information such as cookie identifiers, your IP address, device and browser information, and the actions you take on our website.
TikTok Pixel (TikTok Technology Limited): used to measure and retarget our advertising on TikTok. It collects information such as cookie identifiers, your IP address, device and browser information, and the actions you take on our website.

These technologies load only after you give your consent through our cookie banner. The legal basis is your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) of the EU GDPR and the corresponding provisions of the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). You can change or withdraw your consent at any time, with effect for the future, and you can opt out of this advertising, retargeting and analytics as follows:

On our website: reopen the cookie settings / preferences link on our site and switch off the “Marketing” and/or “Analytics” categories.
Google: manage or turn off ad personalisation in your Google account at myadcenter.google.com, and install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Meta: adjust your ad preferences in your Facebook and Instagram account settings (Accounts Centre → Ad preferences).
Pinterest and TikTok: adjust the personalised-ads settings in your Pinterest and TikTok account privacy settings.
Industry tools: you can also manage many advertising cookies via Your Online Choices and the Network Advertising Initiative.

Some of these providers are based in, or transfer data to, countries outside Switzerland and the European Union, such as the United States. Where that happens, the transfer is protected by the safeguards described in section 9.2 (International Transfers) – for the United States, this includes the Data Privacy Framework adequacy decisions and, where applicable, Standard Contractual Clauses. For details, please refer to the providers’ own privacy notices.

11.1. Consent

Kandes GmbH obtains your explicit consent before sending you marketing communications. When you create an account, place an order, or sign up for our newsletter, you will be given the option to consent to receiving marketing communications from us. This consent is obtained through clear affirmative action, such as checking a box indicating your agreement to receive such communications.

11.2. Opt-Out

You have the right to opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time. You can exercise this right by:

Unsubscribe Link: Clicking the "unsubscribe" link included in the footer of our marketing emails. This will automatically remove you from our marketing list.
Contacting Us: Sending an email to info@kandes.ch with your request to opt-out of marketing communications.

Please note that even if you opt-out of marketing communications, we may still send you transactional emails related to your orders, account updates, or other essential services.

12: Updates to the Privacy Policy

12.1. Notification of Changes

Kandes GmbH may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, and other factors. When we make changes to this policy, we will notify you by:

Posting the updated policy on our website with a new effective date.
Providing a notice on our website or through other appropriate communication channels, such as email, if the changes are significant.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal data.

12.2. Review Date

This Privacy Policy was last reviewed and updated on the 15th July 2026. The current version of the policy is always available on our website for your reference.

13: Contact Information

13.1. General Contact

For general inquiries, concerns, or requests regarding your personal data, you can contact us at:

Kandes GmbH
Im Unterrengg 19
8135 Langnau am Albis
Switzerland
Email: info@kandes.ch
Phone: +41 (0) 76 673 7211
Website: www.kandes.ch