Bibliography

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sz.html

http://www.onepiecetravel.com/CULTURE/A-lesson-from-Switzerland-s-Multi-lingualism--Switzerland-Culture_271.html

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-switzerland.html

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3431.htm#people

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/577225/Switzerland/256965/Visual-arts

http://www.worldwidewebawards.net/Food/Switzerland.html

http://www.swissworld.org/en/switzerland/swiss_specials/swiss_chocolate/chocolate_arrives_in_switzerland/

http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Switzerland.html#b

http://www.ehow.com/about_5479222_kind-clothes-do-wear-switzerland_.html

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/switzerland/export-import.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1035212.stm

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Switzerland-MEDIA.html

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/switzerland/Historical-Timeline-of-Switzerland/175

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=EUR&To=CHF

http://www.swissworld.org/en/people/

Conclusion

      Switzerland is known for their wide variety of  geographical settings but it would make sense for products from the United States to be sold in large cities such as Zurich. This is the most populated city and the most advanced. The city has the widest range of language but more people will understand the English language. The major and most well known department stores are in Zurich and would be receptive to American Products as some of the stores can be found in other European locations. Communication among other members of the country will be accessible because of the large population, which also means that transportation among the city will be easily accessed. Public transportation can be the difference in sales for many products because it will draw people to the store. Advertisements in major cities will be better seen and they can target several language groups in one area; this is similar to New York City. Zurich may seem like a cliche area to bring products to Switzerland but the mountains and rural areas would not be successful in introducing products. The people that live there are not as interested in keeping up with modern times as those in the city; the lifestyles are different. Internet marketing and direct sales are very important in the industry in today's society. Direct sales continues to grow. It would be beneficial to the United States to be in an area that had thousands of neighborhoods for people to host product parties. The more interesting the products the better the sales will be because the Swiss enjoy parties for products that can not be found in stores. Overall, Switzerland has a lucrative market to bring products as it is considered the wealthiest in the world.

Zurich 

Communication

      Switzerland is a highly developed community that bases their economy on trading between countries. It is very important that their communication is highly up to date in order to contact other countries. There are also several regions within the country that need to be reached at all terrains. Land lines, cellular phones, and the internet are among the top used forms of communication. The media can communicate effectively throughout the country as well and has learned to adapt to language differences in order reach every citizen effectively. There are currently about 4.378 million telephones attached to the house line and approximately 9.527 million. The cell phone ratio is 125 per every 100 people; this means cellular phones are one of the top choices for communication. Switzerland is known for their expanded communication structure throughout the country. The internet is another popular source for communication as it is becoming one of the main forms for many countries. Those that use the internet account for 6.152 million of the population. There are about 5.249 million internet hosts which is basically a server that runs the internet and allows others to get information from the internet. A host could be any machine that is providing the internet to users. 

Media

      The main forms of media in Switzerland include; television, the press, radio, news agency/internet. The Public Swiss Broadcasting Company is in control over most of the media throughout Switzerland; this includes 18 radio stations and 7 television networks. The funding for the company comes from advertising on their television networks and some of it is from the fees for a license to broadcast. Switzerland has the right to freedom and can edit their media as necessary. Many forms of press are regional because of language differences and many countries that supply their broadcasts to Switzerland will edit it for the Swiss culture. 
      There are several cultural influences throughout the country that have spread to separate regions and each region has their own private radio and television stations that pertain to the language of the region. Television channels from France, Germany, and Italy are widely available because they are the main influential cultures and have made the channels accessible through satellite television. The internet along with other technologies are taking over the media and by March 2011 there were 6.15 million people using the internet as their source for media. 
      Switzerland has one of the highest numbers of Newspapers; this is partly due to the language influences throughout the country. 1/3 of the papers are written in German, 1/4 in French, and smaller amounts in Italian and Romansh. The papers reach a wide range of people because the language and regional variety. 


Among the largest dailies, as of 2002, were the following papers:

C ITY	C IRCULATION
Blick	Zurich	335,140
Tages-Anzeiger	Zurich	283,140
Tagblatt derr Stadt Zurich	Zurich	197,000
Neue Zürcher Zeitung	Zurich	158,170
Neue Luzerner Zeitung	Lucerne	130,315
Aargauer	Baden	120,000
Basler Zeitung	Basel	114,600

Other circulations:

• The Schweizer Illustrierte (circulation 195,894) is the most popular illustrated weekly
• The Nebelspalter (38,630) is the best-known satirical periodical

Population Reach:

• In 2000, there were about 1,002 radios and 548 television sets for every 1,000 people
• In 2000, there were 500 personal computers in use for every 1,000 people with 44 Internet service providers serving about 3.4 million people by 2001

Imports/Exports

Major Imports:
Account for $299.6 billion of income
Trade partners: Germany 32%, Italy 10.2%, France 8.5%, US 5.3%, Netherlands 4.5%, Austria 4.3%

machinery

chemicals

vehicles

metals

agricultural products

textiles

Major Exports:
Account for $308.3 billion of income
Trade partners: Germany 19.2%, US 10.2%, Italy 7.9%, France 7.7%, UK 5.9%

• machinery
• chemicals
• metals
• watches
• agricultural products
• chocolate 

Overall exchange rate: Exchange rate (average 2011): $1 U.S. = 0.8861 CHF or SFr

(The exchange rate is constantly changing with the economy)

Euro Vs. Swiss Franc exchange: 

1 EUR = 1.20147 CHF

1 CHF = 0.832312 EUR

      Switzerland has a small domestic market, and very few natural resources to turn to which is why imports and exports are so important to the economy. The country has a system where they receive imports and then resell them to countries they have formed trade agreements with to make a profit. More than half of the corporate economy is due to exporting. Switzerland is not formally part of the European Union but they have transformed many of their regulations of trading to match the union in order to make trade easier. The negotiation of agreements took approximately 4 years to complete. Asia and America are two countries that Switzerland was trying to expand on and has been successful thus far. America is the second largest importer of Swiss goods. The imports penetrate both urban and rural areas. Much of the land that is not in the city or near the mountains is for agriculture and one of the biggest imports is machinery which will help with building farming tools. Fuel is another major import which will help people driving in an urban area and the equipment used for agricultural purposes. 

Trade Agreements:

• Very close relationship with the European Union
• 1972 a free trade agreement was established to destroy quotas 
• Insurance agreement of 1989 allowed insurance companies to set roots in the European Union 
• They created an agreement to support agriculture and to remove technical trade barriers
• Free movement of labor

Retail

      Beginning in the 1980's the retailing system has been constantly changing because technological advances and the economic environment require that Switzerland change their structure of business. The current economy has created a decline in the amount of independent retailers that can afford to open a store. Many independent retailers are being forced to close because there business is going to discount stores, self service, and specialization in food stores. Currently the largest portion of the industry consists of department stores, chain stores, discount stores, supermarkets, and consumer cooperatives. A consumer cooperative is an establishment owned by the consumers and are directed in a democratic manner because it maintains satisfaction among members. Department stores along with the other retailers that create a broad market have an advantage with consumers because they are able to purchase more products in one area and most likely for a less expensive price than an independent retailer; there is a wide variety of products and services. Suppliers usually give discounts to stores that purchase an abundance of product at one time for their store.Small retailers have formed groups in order to provide wholesale options and other services to their clients in order to support their business and create as much competition as possible. The small retailers sell in product areas such as food, leather, sports, textiles, toys, and pharmaceuticals.
      Staying ahead of competitors is important in retailing and many try to stay ahead by updating how convenient shopping can be for the consumers. Switzerland retailers are beginning to see the importance of paying with credit cards to make shopping quick and easy.To continue to accommodate consumers retailers are allowing more shopping to be done from the home. Home shopping has been one of the largest expanding markets in the industry as of lately. In Switzerland there are over 5,700 members in the direct sales industry that have accumulated since 1995. The turnover for direct sales is at an all time high in a variety industries ranging from tupperware, lingerie, and cleaning supplies.People host parties at their home and invite people to buy products from their party. The people that host the party are able to make a profit and it is convenient for people to gather,eat and shop. Products can be tested at the scene of the party and people selling the products can give expert advice to their guests about what to buy.
      Department stores dominate the retail industry throughout Switzerland. The most popular stores shopped in the country are department stores.
Globus- This is a department store and there are 13 located in the country. It is owned by the largest retailer in the country called Migro
Jelmoli- One of the oldest and best known department stores. This company introduced the "no haggle" pricing system and a mail order catalog to Switzerland
Loeb- Department store
Marks and Spencer- British retailer. They specialize in clothing and luxury food
Manor- This is the biggest Swiss chain of stores in Switzerland. There are 65 stores and currently have 60% of the market share

Demographics

Population: 

7,655,628 


Major city population:
Zurich 1.143 million
Bern 346,000


Growth rate:
0.199% 

Birth rate:

9.51 births/1,000 population


Death rate:
8.8 deaths/1,000 population


Maternal Mortality rate:
10 deaths/100,000 live births


Infant Mortality rate:

male: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 3.57 deaths/1,000 live births

Fertility rate:

1.47 children born/woman 

Median age:

male: 40.6 years

female: 42.8 years 

Population age structure:

0-14 years: 15.2% (male 602,894/female 560,175)

15-64 years: 67.8% (male 2,612,557/female 2,569,318)

65 years and over: 17% (male 543,074/female 751,943)

Sex Ratios:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female

Migration rates:

1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population 

Ethnic groups:

German 65%

French 18%

Italian 10%

Romansch 1%

other 6%

Geographic areas:

urban population: 74% of total population

rate of urbanization: 0.5% annual rate of change

Gross National Product:

$340.5 billion (2011)

GNP rate of growth:

2.1% (2011)

Personal Income 

$43,400 (2011)

Population below poverty:

6.9%

Division of Labor:
63 percent of the GDP consisted of services 

33 percent was accounted for by industry 

3 percent by agriculture