FRANCE – The short term prospect for Swedish companies operating in France is flat but is extremely positive in the medium term. This is the outcome of a survey (“Baromètre CCSF FORCE PLUS“) conducted by FORCE PLUS and the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France (CCSF) in October 2014. The survey also indicates that small & medium enterprises (SME) are most positive. These results are somehow counter intuitive to the general “morosité” often used to described the French economy. It probably can be explained by the fact that when a Swedish company enters the French market as a niche player it finds more opportunities than larger, more generalist, industrial players which are more exposed to the general slowdown of the French economy. In other words, there are still very healthy markets in France provided that you are focused on niches providing quality services and, provided of course that you are good at finding those resources.
The challenge: finding and exploring niches in France
In this context, the challenge faced by Swedish companies having developed quality and innovative products or services is therefore mostly to identify their niches and the ideal sales channels in France for those niches. In this context, Paris region is the most obvious place to start, … but it is also the most crowded, costliest and slowest. For many products, some of the large regional metropoles (Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Toulouse, Marseile, …) might be better choices.