Howdy, Pardner Post 2
Posted By Clod on May 16, 2011
Europeans themselves, of course, are no experts at solving their international differences. Perhaps no two countries are more famous for their fights and skirmishes than the French and British, whose love/hate relationship spans a millennium of wars, royal romances, military alliances, and trade feuds. The squabbles and differences seem endless. To the frustration of many French and non-French business executives, the French ethos for a relaxed work life—anathema to the Internet culture—is as strong as ever today, with the government enforcing 35-hour work weeks for certain segments of the labor force.
Infrastructure differences are abundant, as the various countries facilitate different access speeds, prices, and availability.
Each vertical industry is prone to its own nuances. Anyone entering the online auction business should be aware that archaic laws protecting traditional auction businesses in France and Italy can complicate matters. David Aldridge, vice president of European operations for U.S. online auction software vendor OpenSite, notes that France requires that all auctioneers receive a state license, and that in Italy, it is technically illegal to run an online auction. Jim Rose, chief executive of one of the United Kingdom’s most popular auction sites, QXL.com, says he is hopeful that France will soon deregulate its auction industry. He points out that many European companies circumvent such restrictive regulations by hosting their servers outside the country. French online art company nart.com did just that to circumvent French law last fall as it prepared to auction a Picasso drawing, a Renoir painting, and other works of art from New York-based facilities.
Web companies that broker pan-European electricity sales—as vertical marketplace i2i (Industry to Industry) plans to do—face uneven pan-European regulatory environments. For instance, France and Luxembourg have kept their markets closed to competition.
This has agitated other European countries, since French power firms have been free to buy into European providers and to export power to other countries, as when France’s Electricite de France recently won German regional government approval to buy a 25 percent stake in Energie Baden-Wurttemberg. The European Commission is examining this lopsided situation.
From a startup’s perspective, accesspaper’s Palm cautions that European entrepreneurs receiving U.S. backing should understand that along with aggressive-style American financing comes aggressive expectations.
Translation: European firms may have to adapt to a faster pace business style. It could be time to sell short French brasseries.
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