The Swiss market with its population of 7.4 million is limited - inspite of the high per capita consumer spending. Therefore, the franchising concept tends to be a rather challenging undertaking and may require some changes as opposed to larger markets. There are only three major cities with suburbs that have a population of over one million. Therefore, the Swiss market for franchising should not be compared to the French, UK, Japanese or other large developed markets. The limited market size, high salaries, and high cost of services are all factors that make it challenging for a Swiss (master) franchisee to be profitable. On the other hand, Switzerland is a high-priced country and potential franchisees may find it advantageous to centralize the purchase of supplies in order to offer attractive prices to the end-user.
The key to successfully establishing a franchise concept in Switzerland market is the master franchisee or a language area franchisee. Switzerland is a small but multilingual country. Therefore, franchises can be tested in different cultural and linguistic environments: French in Geneva or Lausanne; German in Zurich, Basel or Bern; and Italian in Lugano.
CS Switzerland offers a special service for U.S. firms seeking Swiss investors – the Business Facilitation Service (BFS) for Franchisers: It includes initial market research that focuses on the major players in the respective industry sector for a user fee of USD 500.
If you are interested in above service, please get in contact with Mr. Donald Businger at +41 31 357 7270 or donald.businger@mail.doc.gov