Hello to all,

New joiner, arrived in Zurich Switzerland recently...

As a business entrepreneur in the UK, having started up my own company in the UK and running for 10yrs odd, as I landed in Switzerland I immediately realised the cost of living is extortionate..

As a born and breed Londoner, I'm used the day to day expense of major cities, but I was taken aback by the sheer cost of basic items..

ie. Duracell AA batteries x4 - 10CHF+

Now, in the UK these can be bought for, what 3GBP (4.50CHP)

I immediately thought, business opportunity... import these in from UK (at wholesale) and sell on in Switzerland...

However, it can;t be that simple. I must be missing something? I'm sure there are taxed, import duties, etc that I need to be aware of right?

For those in the know, pls do shed some light on this..

Thanks in advance for co-operation...

Welcome in Switzerland and on EF.

Life is sometimes not as simple as it seems. Re batteries: people here tend to buy those re-chargeables. They are as good as the other ones and cost significantly less than the normal batteries.

It's only an example. But the Swiss want you to get sort of creative when it comes to cost control.

Plus they are not really keen on cheap imports and make sure with taxes etc that the market is not swamped with inexpensive items, they can generally sell for more money.

After browsing the forum or various thread you will see that many here have found a good and creative way to face the high costs.

This should of course not discourage you to start a business. If you have your item and think the Swiss have waited for it: go ahead and make your fortune.

One thing that I notice when browsing the batteries at the local Migros: they're marked (in big, noticeable letters) as 'SWISS MADE'. Even the big brands, like Energizer and Duracell, seem to think that they need to market Swiss-made products at a premium price.

As others have said, the Swiss are less price-sensitive than other markets. They tend to display a lot of patriotism in their buying habits, and place a value on quality (perceived or otherwise) above cost.

Switzerland is cheaper than UK as a percentage of salary. No question cheaper than London. In London getting a job and 50-80% would go into rent. Around Geneva area and 20-30% is going into rent. I'm talking about LOW salary, they type that a Swiss professional would laugh at.

A lot if not all consumer goods are imported. Shops are not ripping you off, that's just what it costs.

You do the sums on importing batteries and see what retail cost you end up with in CHF. It's going to be the same as in the shop.

Go to Media Markt, buying a larger box they are about 1chf each. Almost everything in MM is a grey import, there is plenty of competion. Many people in CH are comfortable paying a very high price, the market caters for all!

Who's been drinking the coolaid?

Just look at the country of origin on most packages in Migros or COOP or their affilated stores that seem to own the markets here. You will see that they are selling the same junk being sold everywhere else in the world, just at higher margins.

Plus I see alot of swiss friends shamelessley telling me I should buy local on one side but then circumventing thier own unwritten rules when they can get away with cheaper cross boarder or global shopping.

Basically buying the same merchandise here which exists everywhere else at lower price means:

Basic price +costs margin (rent, salaries, service) and theses are the reason why prices are so high, cause we pay for every single expensive service / salary in the country, most merchandise sold here are 2.2 to 2.4 of the original price.

You can definitely start a business here but dunno what will be the cartels opinion about that

The Duracell Batteries, the excahnge rate has made a big inpact, 3 years ago the CHF was nearer 2.50 to the £ so £4 v 10chf is a wash. As many batteries are Swiss made the local prices have not changed, just more profit in some shops.

Swiss people don't mentally convert prices to GBP when making purchases.
10chufs is 10chufs, immaterial of the current CHF to GBP exchange rate.