IKEA is a Swedish company registered in the Netherlands that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (such as beds, chairs and desks), appliances and home accessories. In 2008, IEKA has become the world's largest furniture retailer; nowadays, IKEA is operating 349 branches in 43 countries.
Now we are going to analyzing the Market development of IKEA. Market development means searching for new markets for existing products and expanding the customer base. IKEA successfully entry into the furniture retail business because of its resilience and low prices of products.
In 1935, the prices of furniture rose 41%. It was the greatest growth rate of prices in all retailing. Then, the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad wanted to develop a new company for selling furniture at low prices, so that everyone could afford to buy their furniture. Therefore, he started with selling furniture in his mail order company first. This mail order company was a miniature model of IKEA.
IKEA applied many strategies to obtain the current top position. First, IKEA had a clear, positive purpose and structured value of business achievements in both customers and employees’ mind. Second, IKEA had focused on young buyers. It treated them as targeted customer group and then design and generates products for this market.
In this case, IKEA was transformed from a small mail order company to a popular international furniture retailer. As the business achievements of IKEA have been increasing and well-developed, it adopted a particular strategy, which is “To offer a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at cheap price”. For reaching the strategic requirement, IKEA improved its competitive capability and enhanced resources such as w...
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...It promotes the products during playing. Therefore, it reduces the feeling of hard sell of the customers.
In external analysis, we try to compare IKEA with two Hong Kong local furniture company: PRICERITE and ULFERTS.
PRICERITE is a company selling cheap furniture with general design. By our observation, comparing to IKEA, although its price is even lower than IKEA. Its branches design is not sharp as IKEA or just like a supermarket.
ULFERTS is a company selling high class furniture as IKEA. However, IKEA shows an absolute advantage in cost control; therefore, IKEA sells same classes of furniture with a much lower price than ULFERTS.
All in all, IKEA’s operating success is totally based on its cost control and quality of products. And its marketing success is based on IKEA’s unique but standardizes branches design and IKEA’s wide spread advertising strategy.
Bob Discount Furniture is the competitor chosen by our group. Bob’s discount furniture and IKEA both compete on a low-cost strategy. The current CEO is Edmond J English. Bob’s discount furniture first opened its doors in 1991. Since then Bob Discount Furniture has grown to fifty stores in eleven states. Most are located in the Northwest and Mid-Atlantic. Their headquarters is located Manchester, CT. Bob’s Discount Furniture have a fast paced sales environment, family like setting with co-workers and managers, good selling incentives for sales associates, good social mobility and advancement opportunities. They compete own their fashionable furniture that exceed “discount” expectations.
In providing a brief summary of the background history information on these companies, Home Depot founded in 1978 by Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus. On June 22, 1979, in Atlanta, Georgia were the first two Home Depot stores opened as a vision of the one-stop shopping for do-it-yourself, along with an investment banker Ken Langone and merchandising Guru Pat Farrah, the founders. Since that time the Home Depot
plus to sponsors. Each game is seen as a chance to spread word of their company.
Traditionally, Dansk Designs followed a strategy of differentiation. When a firm follows this strategy, they create differences in the firm’s product or service by creating something that is perceived as unique and valued by customers. Differentiation can take many forms, including prestige or brand image, which Dansk decided to implement. Their product line consists of eight product categories, which include flatware, china, linen, glass, decorator cookware, and wooden bowls and trays. Their products are of high quality and are highly priced. Dansk was able to achieve a differentiation advantage because their price premiums exceeded the extra costs of being unique. Dansk is able to create these unique products because of the talented designers they employ, including Jens Quisrgaard, Niels Refsgaard, and Gunnar Cyren. Another competitive advantage of a strategy of differentiation is the ability to deal with supplier power. There is a certain amount of status associated with being the supplier to a producer of differentiated products. Dansk’s principal supplier, Richard Nissen, has enjoyed working with Dansk because he believes they have been able to “preserve the handcrafted nature of the products”.
The opening scenes of the movie focus on the narrator, the epitome of a consumerist. He asserts, “Like everyone else, I had become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct…I would flip through catalogues and wonder ‘what kind of dining set defines me as a person?’” His IKEA fetish is the outcome of his unfound identity. He purchases these goods not because he needs them, but because it is represented as the optimum apartment for a single man in catalogues.
At the age of 17 his father gave him a reward for the success in his business. May be it was a turnover in his life. He used this money to establish his small company which will be the world's largest furniture retail company in the future. 10 years later kamprad registered his firm IKEA (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd) on july 18, 1943. He used to sell pens, wallets. Picture frames, tables, jewelry etc. with very cheap retail prices.
The sources of IKEA’s successful entry into the furniture retail business were IKEA’s low prices and resilience. First, Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, began selling furniture in his mail order company. Then he was faced with a social problem and turned it into a business opportunity. Since 1935, furniture prices rose faster than any other retail good at 41%. Kamprad responded by creating a line of furniture priced so that all could afford it. The present furniture cartel attempted to stifle Kamprad’s growth and success. The cartel banned Kamprad from selling directly to the consumer at shows, then managed to persuade the manufacturing cartel to stop supplying Kamprad with furniture. Kamprad responded by supplying elsewhere and now could charge even lower prices. IKEA’s success was due largely to low prices and Kamprad’s ability to capitalize on bad situations.
and will work their best to achieve them. With this management style, IKEA can use various methods of communications (see E5). However this type of management style could make decision-making slow and is not appropriate to some businesses such as, manufacturing industries. The organisational structure, culture and the management style of IKEA have to perform successfully so that, together they can achieve the company’s objectives. For example, to increase profitability: the communication within the organisation have to be clear so that, staff can understand what jobs have to be carried out; staff have to be motivated to perform the job; the relationship between managers and staff have to be strong and committing; the organisation have to encourage staff to create new ideas and share them amongst others; democratic managers have to listen and act on the opinions of workforce, democratic managers have to make sure that the workforce is well aware of the objectives of IKEA, etc.
ForIn the past couple of years, IKEA has been deeply involved with the issues of the environment. In the article, “IKEA’s
Another example of IKEA’s international strategy in building good relationships with suppliers is in Asia, especially in Vietnam, where IKEA expanded its own supply base. Vietnam manufacturers offers low cost labor force and not expensive raw materials, while IKEA provides the view of creating a long-term, high-volume business relationship, and advice on finding the best according to the price raw materials, setting up and bulding factories, choosing what machines, equipments
DataMonitor, 2007. IKEA major retail competition in the US are: Furniture Brands International Inc., Office Depot Inc., Sauder Woodworking Co., Stanley Furniture Company, Inc., and Staples , Inc. This paper will identify the key macroeconomic variables that affect IKEA and the retail industry as a whole. To better understand the effects of such variables upon the industry, two specific variables will be developed further.
IKEA is more than a furniture store they are a company driven by values (IKEA, 2014). The company seeks to make their consumers lives easier by providing them with modern, innovative, inexpensive products which they use to tackle daily home activities. IKEA Group has 298 stores in 26 different countries (IKEA, 2014). The company’s vision is “to create a better everyday life for the many people” (IKEA, 2014, para 1). Using innovative techniques for creating, producing, and marketing their products IKEA can provide consumers with durable products for reason...
The purpose of this essay is analyze the case of IKEA, which has involved in the HR management. Meanwhile, choose two topics to identify the IKEA current situation, including training and development and cross-cultural management. From those two points, give some forward suggestions on the IKEA HR management practice.
E-commerce is available on Ikea’s website to selected countries, and they provide an e-mail address to customers who have queries about their business.
The selected organization for the marketing Audit is IKEA Group. As part Phoenix University marketing course, the author of this document (hereafter referred as “author”) will review the marketing process of IKEA and will provide an audit report at the end of the course.