Doing Business In - International Franchise Association
Doing Business In - International Franchise Association Doing Business In - International Franchise Association
The original deadline for the armed forces’ overall 26,000 soldiers to achieve the target full operational capability was set for 2012. However, in the wake of defense budget cuts this was pushed back to 2015. But even this date is not firm. Fundamental modernization projects will most likely not be affected, but there won’t be enough financial resources to execute lower level modernization aims, such as a small caliber arms upgrade and the construction of new military bases. Over the next 15 years, the Czech Army will need to spend hundreds of millions US$ on tactical equipment for all levels, small caliber machine guns, small terrain vehicles and the reconstruction and upgrade of military IT infrastructure and communication and information systems. Due to ongoing Czech government plans to dramatically modernize the country’s military, the defense sector continues to be a lucrative one for U.S. companies. However, the challenges of selling to the Czech Government, including a lingering lack of transparency in the tendering process, mean that quick wins are unlikely. Only by proceeding with a longer-term view and building a solid network can a US company expect to succeed in the Czech defense market. In order to remake the Czech armed forces into a small, mobile, and sophisticated professional army, the Czech Government has adopted the following procurement strategy: • Mid range radar system • Mid-sized trucks • NBC equipment • Night vision equipment • Artillery Funding is now the major obstacle facing U.S. firms as the current defense spending is at 1.44% of GDP, which is $1.1 billion annually. An additional challenge is ongoing military reorganizations and personnel turnover. These factors, combined with lack of experience, have made it difficult to implement a Western-style procurement system at the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces staff. Future Soldier, October 14-16, 2010, Praha – Letnany Fairground International fair and conference focused on military equipment, arms and weapons. Contacts: Hana Obrusnikova, Senior Commercial Specialist T: +420 257 022 436 F: +420 257 022 810 hana.obrusnikova@mail.doc.gov www.usembassy.cz Education/Training Services (EDS) Return to top The education market is made up of two distinct parts: student exchange programs and locally based programs. While study abroad programs are quite popular in the Czech
Republic, the number of Czech students in the U.S. has experienced a slight decline in recent years largely due to the Czech Republic’s entry into the European Union (EU) and the availability of EU grant programs for studies in the EU countries. Nevertheless, current exchange rates make tuition costs lower for schools in the U.S. The U.S. therefore has a good chance to regain its former position as a preferred location for higher education. U.S. schools looking to start a Czech-based program should visit the market as an initial step. During this visit, the school should seek to evaluate what is already on offer and determine how their program can operate competitively and distinguish themselves from existing programs. While Prague already has a number of U.S.-sponsored or U.S.-style programs on offer, major towns elsewhere in the Czech Republic are hungry for this type of offering. Most U.S. schools choose to partner with a Czech educational institution to offer local programs. Sporting Goods/Recreational Equipment (SPT) Return to top The Czech Republic has a long tradition of sports and the sporting goods market is growing every year. The most popular sports are ice hockey, soccer, tennis, cycling, cross-country and downhill skiing. Average Czech family spent around $1,100 on sporting goods in 2009. Sporting apparel accounts for 48% of the spending, leaving 38% of spending for sport equipment, 10% for sport tournaments entrance tickets and passes and 5% for trainers and courses. Skiing has become the most popular winter sport in the Czech Republic. The development of ski equipment as well as ski centers attract more and more people every year. Volleyball is also a common sport and many Czech volleyball players play successfully in foreign leagues. Hiking and cycling belongs to the most popular outdoor sports. With one of the highest densities of fitness centers in Europe, gym equipment such as weight machines, treadmills, spinning bikes, etc. can also find a market here. Shooting, and scuba diving have also become popular. Golf has enjoyed increasing popularity during the last five years. Eastern Europe represents a great potential for golf as the number of golf courses increased by 78% in the last five years. Czech Republic has become a clear golf leader in this region, with 68% golfers in the region playing in the country. The Czech Republic owns 50% of golf courses in the whole Eastern Europe. Czechs expect quality products, and this is where U.S. companies can gain a strategic advantage over other competitors. Advertising has become an important part of the Czech consumer culture, and U.S. companies must be aware of this when developing their product positioning strategy. Finding an experienced Czech distributor is a key to market access. The Czech Republic will host three international tradeshows focused on sport equipment in 2010, most visited being SportTech (9/21-25, 2010 in Prague) and Sport Prague (2/19-21, 2010 in Prague Letnany).
- Page 1 and 2: Doing Business in the Czech Republi
- Page 3 and 4: table for conversion to the euro ha
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- Page 7 and 8: Key Link: http://www.ombudsman.euro
- Page 9 and 10: lack of U.S. firms present, so U.S.
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- Page 37 and 38: Telecommunications Eq. (TEL) Overvi
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The original deadline for the armed forces’ overall 26,000 soldiers to achieve the target<br />
full operational capability was set for 2012. However, in the wake of defense budget cuts<br />
this was pushed back to 2015. But even this date is not firm. Fundamental<br />
modernization projects will most likely not be affected, but there won’t be enough<br />
financial resources to execute lower level modernization aims, such as a small caliber<br />
arms upgrade and the construction of new military bases. Over the next 15 years, the<br />
Czech Army will need to spend hundreds of millions US$ on tactical equipment for all<br />
levels, small caliber machine guns, small terrain vehicles and the reconstruction and<br />
upgrade of military IT infrastructure and communication and information systems.<br />
Due to ongoing Czech government plans to dramatically modernize the country’s<br />
military, the defense sector continues to be a lucrative one for U.S. companies.<br />
However, the challenges of selling to the Czech Government, including a lingering lack<br />
of transparency in the tendering process, mean that quick wins are unlikely. Only by<br />
proceeding with a longer-term view and building a solid network can a US company<br />
expect to succeed in the Czech defense market.<br />
<strong>In</strong> order to remake the Czech armed forces into a small, mobile, and sophisticated<br />
professional army, the Czech Government has adopted the following procurement<br />
strategy:<br />
• Mid range radar system<br />
• Mid-sized trucks<br />
• NBC equipment<br />
• Night vision equipment<br />
• Artillery<br />
Funding is now the major obstacle facing U.S. firms as the current defense spending is<br />
at 1.44% of GDP, which is $1.1 billion annually. An additional challenge is ongoing<br />
military reorganizations and personnel turnover. These factors, combined with lack of<br />
experience, have made it difficult to implement a Western-style procurement system at<br />
the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces staff.<br />
Future Soldier, October 14-16, 2010, Praha – Letnany Fairground<br />
<strong>In</strong>ternational fair and conference focused on military equipment, arms and weapons.<br />
Contacts:<br />
Hana Obrusnikova, Senior Commercial Specialist<br />
T: +420 257 022 436<br />
F: +420 257 022 810<br />
hana.obrusnikova@mail.doc.gov<br />
www.usembassy.cz<br />
Education/Training Services (EDS) Return to top<br />
The education market is made up of two distinct parts: student exchange programs and<br />
locally based programs. While study abroad programs are quite popular in the Czech
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