Franchise Brands Find Few Barriers in Sweden | International franchising
Place: In northern Europe, between Finland and Norway and bordering the Baltic Sea, Sweden is slightly larger than California.
Language: Swedish (Finnish, Sami, Romani, Yiddish and Meankieli are official minority languages). English is spoken a lot.
Total population: 10.3 million
Capital: Stockholm
Government: Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Religion: Church of Sweden (Lutheran, 57.6%); others include Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims or unspecified (33.5%)
Economy: With a gross domestic product of $ 537 billion, Sweden is the largest Nordic economy, one with a transparent, developed and diversified market with few entry barriers – and strong dependence on foreign trade. Even with the covid-19 pandemic, the government revised the estimates of GDP growth for 2021 from 3.2 percent to 4.7 percent. Sweden’s open market means that it is also very competitive and American companies must be aggressive with pricing and conditions to succeed. Sweden is outside the euro area due to concerns that membership of the European Economic and Monetary Union would reduce the country’s sovereignty over its welfare system.
News listing: With a new increase in covid-19 infections and because it is once again facing business restrictions, Sweden said in December that it would adopt government support measures for companies that have lost revenue. Bloomberg reported that companies that lose more than 30 percent of revenue are eligible for compensation of as much as 90 percent of fixed costs. A bright spot: The Swedish company Hennes och Mauritz – better known as the massive fashion retailer H&M – announced that sales measured in local currencies matched the levels before the pandemic from September to November 2021.
GDP (official exchange rate): $ 531.5 billion
Currency: Swedish kronor (conversion rate at printing: 1 SEK corresponds to 0.11 USD).
Franchising in Sweden: At the same time as interest in American concepts continues to grow, the majority of Sweden’s more than 800 franchise companies are of Swedish origin. Major American fast food brands such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Subway have a presence, along with such as Re / Max and 7-Eleven. The retail, hotel, restaurant and service industries offer opportunities for American brands, even though the Swedish Franchise Association states that the market is competitive. There is no specific comprehensive franchise legislation in Sweden, but according to the Swedish law on franchise information, a franchisor must provide a prospective franchisee with certain information before entering into a franchise agreement. The legislation covers all franchise agreements in Sweden.