Catalan Small Firms Relocating

Small Catalan firms are moving their headquarters outside of the region or setting up parallel companies to skirt a boycott of goods from Catalonia by Spaniards angry over its separatist push, AFP reported. While tensions have eased somewhat since Spain’s central government last month took direct control of the northeast region and has scheduled regional elections in December, many businesses in Catalonia still feel the need to guard against uncertainty.

The head of a small family-run business said he believes setting up a duplicate distribution firm for his goods in Madrid was the right move. His company’s sales have plunged by over 30% since Catalonia went ahead with a banned referendum on October 1 followed by the Catalan parliament unilaterally declaring independence. The new distribution company allows him to slap his products with a Madrid address that he hopes will help sales recover. “We won’t sell anymore if we don’t do this,” said the businessman, who like other executives in Catalonia did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the independence issue.