Generalizes on the best strategy to enter the market, e.g., visiting the country; importance of relationships to finding a good partner; use of agents.
Last Published: 7/22/2019
While Sweden’s markets are generally quite open to foreign competition they are also highly competitive. To break into the market, products and services must be globally competitive and usually customized for the unique Swedish market:
  • Demonstrate a clear competitive advantage (i.e., price, quality, branding).
  • Pay close attention to both the obvious and subtle cultural differences between the U.S. and Sweden and adjust marketing strategies accordingly.  The Swedish cultural philosophy of jantelagen still eschews overt self-promotion and achievement as inappropriate but this is changing, especially among the start-up community.
  • Evaluate prospective partners carefully and choose an experienced, well-established distributor.
  • Be flexible and adjust expectations to the scale of the market. Although Sweden is the size of California, its population is only 10 million (25 million total population in the Nordics).
  • Evaluate the potential for distributors to cover the entire Nordic region. Depending on the industry sector, prospective business partners may be based in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, or other Nordic cities.
  • Express commitment to the market with a long-term perspective. Visits are important since Nordic partners want first-hand assurance of a partner’s reliability and commitment.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.