WHY LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND IS ONE OF THE BEST INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LOCATIONS

In a recent popular video advert for Switzerland Tourism, tennis legend Roger Federer is joined by Academy Award-winning actor Robert DeNiro to discuss why the Hollywood star will not make a movie about Switzerland. In the hilarious exchange, Robert DeNiro declares “Your country has no drama, no conflict, no jeopardy… I am a certain type of actor, I need an edge!” For tourists who have had the pleasure of visiting Switzerland, “no drama” is a fitting description. The same statement applies for doing business in Switzerland… and that is exciting because after all, what business leader wants drama, conflict or jeopardy?

Switzerland is a leading choice globally for business location. Among its 26 regions (cantons), Lucerne (written as Luzern by locals) leads the way within the country and also internationally. Across the world many companies are taking notice of Lucerne’s burgeoning reputation as a highly prosperous, internationally orientated, commercial hub built on innovation and business friendliness.

Numerous international companies already organize their value chain from Lucerne. Functions such as purchasing, marketing, product management, business development, sales, as well as HQ and central functions are popular in Lucerne. In addition, there are many global companies outsourcing their research and development to Switzerland and Lucerne.

The 4 steps leading to World Biz Magazine selecting Lucerne as the Best International Business Location included the following:

1. Our Editorial team set a number of factors to guide the selection process, these included: availability of highly educated and skilled talent, accessibility and location, operational costs and tax, quality of life, presence of clusters, contribution to corporate brand image, ease of locating, and quality of local support.

2. Our researchers shortlisted the top locations that performed well on the above criteria. These included some of the world’s most famous cities and regions. The shortlisting process involved gaining feedback from our global audience of business leaders and collating media reports over the preceding 24 months.

3. Our team of analysts carefully compared each location to discover the top 4 finalists who stood out above the rest.

4. Finally, our panel of Judges drawn from business leadership and journalism selected the winner for 2022: Lucerne.

Here are the reasons why Lucerne is World Biz Magazine’s Best International Business Location for 2022:

Cost Advantages

Corporations that locate in the canton of Lucerne can immediately tap into major cost benefits. Corporate tax is significantly lower in Switzerland than in most countries. Specifically, areas in the canton of Lucerne offer some of the lowest tax rates in Switzerland.

The prices for land, office space and residential property are highly attractive for business. The costs of location in Lucerne compare favorably with other cities in Switzerland such as Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich or Zug.

This mix of low corporate taxes and advantageous real estate prices mark out Lucerne as a financially smart location for companies.

Qualified Professionals

Lucerne is a prosperous economic area that offers a large pool of qualified, highly skilled, and multilingual workers who are steeped in a culture of innovation, international orientation and high productivity.

Here are some of the key facts:

• Global value chain - Lucerne has extensive experience with companies locating their functions including: purchasing, marketing, product management, business development, sales, as well as headquarters and central finance and financial controlling functions.

• Around 1 million well trained and qualified employees are active in the catchment area of the Lucerne economic region.

• There are numerous further education institutions and universities in the region.

• Switzerland shines with the best quality of vocational training of all countries in Europe.

• With 38.6%, Switzerland is the country in Europe with the second highest percentage of people who have a tertiary education degree.

• Switzerland is one of the most productive economies in the world, due to liberal labor laws, the low density of regulations and the high level of social stability.

• Switzerland shares a border with three of the four largest European markets: Germany, France and Italy. Their languages are also national languages of Switzerland, which many Lucerne residents speak fluently in addition to English.

• Lucerne is particularly international in character and open to companies and employees from abroad, precisely because of its many years of experience in tourism.

Location and Accessibility

Lucerne is located in the middle of Switzerland (part of the Zurich metropolitan area, Switzerland’s strongest economic region) and is right at the heart of Europe. Three of the continent’s largest markets (Germany, France and Italy) are nearby. Due to its excellent transport system and links, Lucerne is easily accessible to the world's major economic centers.

Thanks to its multilingualism and geographical location, Lucerne offers excellent access to the consumer market in Europe. Within a radius of 500 km, 67% of the GDP of the Eurozone is generated. Through the bilateral agreements, Switzerland is fully integrated into the EU market with its approximately 500 million consumers. Free trade agreements with over 40 countries worldwide complement the economic network. Agreements with all major industrialized nations guarantee that companies are only taxed in one country.

Quality of Life

The starting point of understanding Lucerne’s unique work-life balance is knowing that you will be working and living where others spend their holidays. Lucerne is the most popular city in Switzerland, the region’s cultural and leisure offerings are unique and internationally acclaimed. The Lucerne region offers mountains and lakes, attractive cities and vast landscapes. Lucerne also benefits from an abundance of first-class infrastructure, healthcare and educational opportunities.

The OECD, 2021 rankings places Switzerland 2nd out of the world’s 40 leading economies for quality of life when measuring aspects such as jobs, income, safety, life satisfaction, health, education, but excluding civic engagement).

Combining 4 above advantages with Lucerne’s strong industry diversity, abundance of success stories, and the unparalleled quality of service and friendliness from the team at Lucerne Business (www.lucerne-business.com) - the organisation responsible for supporting companies in their process of locating in the region, it's clear that Lucerne fully deserves the distinguished recognition as the Best International Business Location for 2022.

READ THE INTERVIEW: MATHIAS LISCHER - HEAD OF PROMOTION & FDI, LUCERNE BUSINESS