Market Description
In the Czech Republic operate c. 55 companies, which design maps. Most companies were found during the 1990's in particular to produce maps for orienteering, geodetic works, or they arose as advertising agents. During the time some small companies with narrow line of products have escalated into big cartographic companies with a large plan of edition and unsuccessful firms have ceased to exist. Some cartographic subjects also attend to geodesy, polygraphy, or advertising activity. Except cartographic companies there exist another firms, which exceptionly produce a thematic map throught simple graphical programs or GIS programs. Majority of commercial maps are applied in connection with tourism.
The Czech Republic has experienced rank of variation within last ten years, which has clearly demonstrated at the cartographic market. Before 1989 a cartographic fraction of Geodesy and Cartographic Office was the only map producer in the Czech Republic and company created tourist maps with a scale of 1:100 000, city maps of the biggest Czech towns and two road atlases of Czechoslovakia (with scale 1:400 000, later also 1:200 000).
After 1989 Czech economy has changed into the market economy. In 1992 a cartographic fraction of Geodesy and Cartographic Office was made private, the company called Kartografie Praha arised. At the same time two state geodetic companies Geodezie Brno and Geodezie CS became private and firms have begun to be also cartography-orientated . Kartografie Praha, Geodezie Brno a Geodezie CS became dominant companies at the Czech cartographic market in the 1990's.
Since 1989 new private companies might be founded, in 1991 first newly based subjects also developed at the cartographic market. Firms were interested in maps for orienteering and city maps at first. In process of time some of them escalated into flouring cartographic companies with a large plan of edition such as the firm of SHOCart, which has the largest number of editing maps in the Czech Republic today. In the early of 21st century the company Zaket expands plan of edition more distinctly.
Since 1989 foreign cartographic corporations have also attended the Czech market. German Mairs Geographisher Verlag and Austrian freytag & berndt built up its affiliated companies, which are interested mainly in a distribution.
In the second half of the 1990's and in the first years of 21st century other companies have begun to do business in cartography. Some former employees of Geodezie CS founded companies of Geodezie On Line and Position. Geodézie Brno has been divided after ownership changes in 2001, a part of gheodesy was bought by the most important Czech gheodetical company Geodis Brno, a part of cartography was gone to freytag & berndt, one of the biggest Czech cartographic company in nineties has practically dissolved.
At the beginning of 21st century there exist some bigger cartographic company and a lot of smaller firms at the Czech cartographic market. The market is gluted of a large number of products, high competition leads to prices reductions and to less profitability of a creation of maps. Only the most powerful and the most qualified ones can survive. The superior distribution is fundamental. The biggest substitution in the sale have products, which are distributed by the company of Marco Polo - affiliated the company of Mairs Geographisher Verlag (exclusive distribution Geodezie CS), the group of Geoclub Group (exclusive distribution SHOCart) and freytag & berndt, which profits greatly from the distribution of tourist map by Klub ceskych turistu (Czech tourist club). On the contrary Kartografie Praha hasn't solved its distribution and accordingly also selling its products after the failure of the biggist distributing company of Geomedia.
Beside cartographic companies some state offices also create maps. The most important one is Český úřad zeměměřičský a katastrální (www.cuzk.cz), which produces maps of our state (maps with a large scale, basic maps with mid-scale, maps of some territory, maps of administrative distribution and thematic state maps). Maps can be bought in its branches around the whole republic.