Image of Swiss products remains very good
Despite banking scandals and the mass immigration initiative, Switzerland's image abroad remains intact. Consumers are still willing to pay a premium for Swiss products.
They accept a Swiss premium of over 100 percent for luxury watches, pay half as much more for cheese and cosmetics and even ski vacations are priced 7 percent higher. These are the findings of the "Swissness Worldwide 2016" study conducted by the University of St. Gallen, HTP St. Gallen Managementberatung and Zurich-based advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat, which was published on Thursday. A total of 7914 people in 15 countries were surveyed for the study. According to the study, the biggest fans of the Swiss brand come from China, Brazil, India and Russia. Respondents named Roger Federer as the best brand ambassador.
But Swissness is still very much in demand in Switzerland too. For example, 43 percent of the population pay attention to the Swiss origin of products. For example, people in Switzerland pay 6 percent more for biscuits with a cross than without. However, the authors of the study also point out that Swissness is not a sure-fire success. For the first time, Swiss products and services no longer occupy the top spot in this survey, but have fallen to second place, just behind Germany. There is also said to be a need for action on the part of companies. Half a year before the Swissness Ordinance came into force, half of the companies had still not adopted a Swissness strategy, according to the press release. This is despite the fact that many companies want to make greater use of the origin in future. (SDA)
