Doing Business In - International Franchise Association

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).