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Survey among our members: 76% of the respondents record a decline in sales due to covid-19 outbreak

The survey was organised by the French Chamber of commerce in Sweden, in cooperation with the French Embassy in Sweden. It deals with the economic and financial impact of the coronavirus on member firms and was carried out between April 16th and April 28th 2020. 50 members settled in Sweden answered the survey anonymously. 

Firms’ activity strongly impacted 

Among the 50 firms having answered the survey, 86% assert they have seen an impact on their organisation. 42% applied for the government crisis packages, most of all for the short-term layoffs with a reduction of working hours by 60%. The majority asked their employees to work from home and have cancelled meetings or moved them to digital conferences. Note that 60% of the survey respondents believe that the liberal approach by the Swedish Government is an advantage to their company's economic activity. 

In terms of results, the sharp reduction of sales and the delay of many customer projects have a negative impact on the firms’ financial situation. Only 16% assert that the current crisis has no negative effects on financial results and only 2% record higher profits than before. Nevertheless, only 16% have applied layoffs and 34% have reduced the working time of their employees. 

Uncertainty about the post-crisis period 

If 18% of the firms answered they cannot predict the financial consequences on year 2020’s results, one fifth anticipate a decline between 1 and 20%, and one third a decline between 20 and 50%. However, 16% predict no significant changes in their year end results. The firms express a strong uncertainty due to the weakening of local currencies, deferral customer projects and increased risk of bankruptcies in sectors such as retail. 38% expect business to be back to normal by September but still 28% think it is hard to say.

Different perspectives for the future 

Among the negative consequences of the crisis, the firms anticipate a temporary hold on recruitment and on salary increase, delayed payments, and cancellation of orders. Nevertheless, they also highlight that the current crisis could trigger positive changes for the economic activity such as digitalisation, the diversification of activities or more importance given to crisis management.

Click here to see the results in PDF.