Anna Mitchell discusses the outlook for AV in Switzerland with its largest integration firm and finds that, despite the country remaining outside the EU, European relations are pervading every level of business.
In many ways Switzerland is uniquely European. It sits at the heart of Europe; its citizens speak French, German, Italian and Romansh.
But its geographic position and linguistic mix belie its relationship with the European Union. It is not a member of the EU or even the European Economic Area (EEA) that includes Norway, Iceland and Switzerland’s own close neighbour Liechtenstein.
It is however very wealthy. According to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013 it ranked eighth in a global list of GDP per capita and the Swiss franc is strong.
So what does this mean for business in Switzerland?
“The Swiss economy is suffering from the weak Euro,†says Ulrich Jost, CEO of Kilchenmann, the largest AV integrator in Switzerland. “The export business is slow and Swiss banks aren’t stopping to get bad headlines. The willingness to invest is accordingly low.â€
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