...segments: IKEA positions itself as a leading international furniture retailer that provides economical, well-designed and functional furniture. As IKEA’s biggest competitive advantage is the low price, IKEA tries all its best to lower the fixed cost and the variable cost, like building supplier relationships in developing countries to reduce labor and production cost; flat-packaging to reduce the freight fee; use materials in a cost-efficient way and in-house design also reduce the resign cost for IKEA. IKEA also differentiate itself with appealing shopping experience, self-service, as well as developing facilities like childcare, restaurants, and lounge rooms. The Scandinavian design and style is also a niche for IKEA. The target segments of IKEA is price-conscious people, who have tight budgets, like college students, younger adults and new families, who want to make the first furniture purchase, then the IKEA may be a very good choice for them due to its price advantage. Another target segment for IKEA is early adopters. For the modern design and unique shopping environment, people who like innovative things will likely to give it a try to IKEA’s furniture. Benefits & drawbacks to IKEA: The benefit that IKEA gains from its strategy: 1. Its price advantage is very obvious compared with other furniture retailers, which can attract large amount of price-conscious customers. 2. The hip Swedish design and appealing shopping experience is a niche for IKEA. 3. All the IKEA stores...
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...Furnishing the World I.Situation Analysis IKEA is a privately-owned international furniture manufacturer known for its low prices and unique style. The company’s vision is to create a better everyday life for its customers by offering a great selection of well-designed, practical home furnishings. Since IKEA has chosen this sort of affordable and distinctive marketing strategy, the company has been very successful in its expansion throughout the world. IKEA has been successful with a relatively standardized product and product line in a business with strong cultural influence. This is because: The founder formulated IKEA’s mission which states that IKEA offers wide variety of home furnishings of good design and function at prices so low that the majority of people can afford them. Such wide variety could fit a wide variety of cultures and tastes. The case studies also states that the assortment of goods are universally accepted. The principal target market of IKEA is similar across all countries and regions and is composed of people who are young, highly educated, liberal in their cultural values,white collar workers, and not especially concerned with status symbols.Most people in the IKEA target market are liberal in their tastes,preferences and cultural norms hence making them easy to accept and appreciate IKEA’s standardized products. II.Problems Found in Situation Analysis 1. What are IKEA's firm‑specific advantages? Country‑specific...
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...I. View Point II. Time Context In 1943, IKEA was established by Ingvar Kamprad. The company sold fish, Christmas magazines, and seeds from his family farm. In 1948, Kamprad added furniture to his product line. In 1949, IKEA published his first catalog distributed for free. In 1953, Kamprad could no longer use the milk truck to take goods to the train. As a solution in this problem, in the same year he bought an idle factory nearby Almhut and converted it into a warehouse. In 1956, IKEA developed a concept which is self-assembly furniture which later became an integral concept of IKEA. In 1957, IKEA started to exhibit and sell its products at home furnishing fairs in Sweden. In 1958, an expanded facility at the Almhut location became the first IKEA store. In early 1960, Polish-made goods were to be found on more than half of the IKEA catalog. In 1965, IKEA opened its first store in Stockholm, Sweden‘s capital. By 1973, IKEA became the largest furniture retailer in Scandinavia with nine stores. By the late 1980’s, IKEA met with considerable success, particularly in West Germany, where it had 15 stores. In 1985, IKEA opened its first United States store in Philadelphia. By the early 1990’s, the company found that things are not going well in America. Its European-style offerings did not always resonate with American consumers. To handle this situation, IKEA reemphasized design and started promoting the brand with a series of quirky hip advertisement aimed at younger...
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...IKEA - PRODUCT LAUNCH IN INDIA (BANGALORE) Project Submission - 1 Group-7 1. Jai Prasanna Sudhan S.P (1211024) 2. Karthikeyan T (1211029) 3. Kalayappan S (1211103) 4. Ravishankar N (1211134) 5. Karthik P (1211347) Management Decision Problem: To evaluate the market opportunity for IKEA in Bangalore, India Marketing Research Problem: 1. To assess the opportunities for furniture industry in Indian market 2. To identify the segments and target market relevant to the product line of IKEA 3. To determine the branding and positioning strategy for these target segments 4. To evaluate the sustainable competitive advantage of IKEA in Indian market 5. To evaluate the effectiveness of the IKEA retail concept in Indian market Components of MR problem: S.No. | Marketing Research Problem | Components of the problem | 1. | To assess the opportunities for furniture industry in Indian market | i) How attractive is Indian market to invest in furniture industry? ii) Evaluation of Indian organized and unorganized players and their unique features in the market | 2. | To identify the segments and target market relevant to the product line of IKEA | i) What is the customer profile in Bangalore w.r.t age, income, marital status, occupation and socio economic classification? ii) Who are the potential customers for the IKEA products? iii) What are the behavioral characteristics of the targeted customers? | 3. | To determine...
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...MGNT 3650 June 12, 2011 Chapter 1 Closing Case-IKEA How has the globalization of markets benefited IKEA? Globalization of markets has benefited IKEA by making it easy to expand into different countries. Now that the whole world has excess to the internet, everyone is basically wearing and listening to the same things. This is very beneficial to IKEA because there isn’t a lot the company has to do with the style they originally started in Sweden. With the globalization of markets it makes it easier for customers to buy products from IKEA online or at the warehouse with their country “social” demographics and culture in mind. “The worldwide success of a growing list of products that have become household names is evidence that consumers the worlds over, despite deep-rooted cultural differences, are becoming more and more alike - or, as the author puts it, "homogenized." In consequence, he contends, the traditional MNC's strategy of tailoring its products to the needs of multiple markets may put it at a severe disadvantage vis-a-vis competitors who apply marketing imagination to the task of developing advanced, functional, reliable standardized products, at the right price, on a global scale.” How has the globalization of production benefited IKEA? This has saved IKEA time and money. IKEA has producers to supply each of its big markets; it helps by knowing the styles of each market. For example the producer for...
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...OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT GROUP PROJECT Report on the Operations Management strategy of Xuan Hoa Furniture and IKEA Prepared for Prof. Noel By - Group 7 - Lê Quang Anh Đỗ Thị Hà Anh Vũ Kim Phượng Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Linh Nguyễn Thị Thùy Linh May 22, 2014 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Operational management is line management of organizations that highly affect the company’s performance. It is a business function that organizes, coordinate and control the resources needed to produce a good, operational management is a business process to create highest level of efficiency and value add. Operations management is a dynamic field and presents exciting new issues and challenges for operations managers. This is also a very important coursework for everyone of us who want to become a successful leader in the future. For that reason, after completing a 3-week Operations Management course, we – Group 7 would like to present a report about our findings on the comparison of the operations management strategy between 2 companies on the field of furniture manufacturing and retailer: Xuan Hoa Furniture and IKEA. Our report is divided into 9 main parts, each one represents a strategic Operations Management decision. And every main part will be broken into 2 part: one from Xuan Hoa Furniture and one from IKEA. 1. General Introduction 2. Operations Strategy 3. Product Design 4. Managing Quality 5. Process Strategy 6. Location Strategy 7. Human Resources and Job...
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...Executive Summary Background IKEA, the world’s largest home furnishings retail chain, was founded in 1943 by a Swedish entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad. IKEA offers standardized products worldwide that are Scandinavian in design worldwide. The unique idea of this famous brand is to offer the option of assembling products to customers. The design of the furniture is very modern and light as it is made of particleboard. The products are of contemporary design and function with the concept that is based on low price. High quality, convenience, affordability, consistency, functionality and good design are the essence of this world class home furnishing retailer. Challenges IKEA faced many challenges in terms of culture and business practices as well as socio-economic and political conditions in China. The biggest challenges were pricing, copycat producers and cheap labor cost for assembled furniture. Alternatives To make the price more affordable for Chinese consumers IKEA has developed manufacturing units in China and collects raw materials locally. Due to country specific environment IKEA chose franchising in China. Because of cheap labor cost of Chinese assembled furniture IKEA offers reasonable fee-based assembling services. IKEA has built its stores near public transportation lines inside cities since only 20% of customers own cars in Shanghai. Recommendations IKEA needs to find more local suppliers to keep price lower. To understand local culture and purchasing habit,...
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...Case Study on IKEA Executive Summary The case study of IKEA has been read, analyzed; and the findings are presented in the report as required. The goal of the report was to analyze the case study of IKEA and then to present the findings as well as performing some tasks that are required in this report. Firstly, some terms that are closely associated with marketing has been described and analyzed. In addition to that, those terms are also discussed in relation with the case study. Brand, Business strategy, retail sector, price sensitive and franchisee are the terms that have been discussed in this report in the first section. In the second section, the required calculation for average number of customers of each sector and average spending of customers has been worked out. A new mission statement for IKEA has also been proposed there along with the justification for the mission statement. In the third section, the importance and nature of SWOT analysis has been discussed and elaborated. It is seen in the case study that IKEA performs a SWOT analysis that supports their process of building strategy. Moreover, the SWOT analysis of IKEA has also been performed and justified. In the fourth section, SMART objectives and some new marketing mix ideas for IKEA has been demonstrated. In the fifth Section, the concept of marketing model and minimizing the threats for IKEA has been included and demonstrated. Ultimately, the report contains what were required...
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...IKEA Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda With a 1988 turnover of 14.5 billion Swedish kronor (U.S. $1 SKr6 in 1988) and 75 outlets in 19 countries; IKEA had become the world's largest home furnishings retailer. As the company approached the 1990s, however, its managers faced a number of major challenges. Changes in demographics were causing some to question IKEA's historical product line policy. Others wondered if the company had not bitten off too much by attempting major new market entries simultaneously in two European countries (United Kingdom and Italy), the United States, and several Eastern bloc countries. Finally, there was widespread concern about the future of the company without its founder, strategic architect, and cultural guru, Ingvar Kamprad. IKEA BACKGROUND AND HISTORY In 1989, furniture retailing worldwide was a fragmented industry in which small manufacturers and distributors catered to the demands of their local markets. Consumer preferences varied by region, and there were few retailers whose operations extended beyond a single country. IKEA, however, had repeatedly bucked market trends and industry norms. Over three and a half decades, it had built a highly profitable worldwide network of furniture stores (see Exhibit 1). COMPANY ORIGINS IKEA is an acronym for the initials of the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, his farm Elmtaryd, and his county, Agunnaryd, in Smäland, South Sweden. In 1943, at the age of 17, Kamprad began his...
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...able to afford them." Introduction At the outset, it may be useful to characterise IKEA in terms of the characteristics of demand (also known as the four Vs, see Slack et al. p 20). First, IKEA is clearly a high volume operation – as indeed most international retailers are – which lends to systematising operations but which implies capital intensive processes and therefore cost considerations will be crucial. Second, IKEA offers a large number of products (up to 14000 depending on the country/store) so there is high variety in the production process which not only leads to the need for complex and flexible processes but also entails high unit costs. Third, variation in demand will however be low, or at the least predicable (holiday periods for example) so advanced planning is possible which eliminates the need to set resources aside as a “capacity cushion” for unexpected demand. Lastly, IKEA – again as most retailers – have high process visibility, or in other words display a high degree of direct customer experience, which underlines the importance of dedicating sufficient attention to the shopping experience in all its facets. In what follows, and in line with the questions for this TMS, the implications of the five performance objectives to IKEA will be examined as well as the company’s key operational decisions that have impacted on these objectives. Thereafter 1. Question 1 There are five aspects of operations performance that to varying degrees impact on customer...
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...Success Factors of IKEA 1 The Key Success Factors of IKEA Advanced English Writing 2 Abstract Taking advantage of three mayor cost-cutting strategies, IKEA has been able to maximize its profit and to succeed internationally with its concept. The self-service and do-it-yourself approach to selling furniture is one of the critical success factors IKEA uses to save costs and increase profit margins. Furthermore, it has a complicated company structure, partially in order to avoid taxes, but also to allow for some flexible management decisions to be made, based on the international needs. The third key success factor that can be held responsible for IKEA’s international triumph is its production and ordering system. The company uses recycled materials and wood alternatives in its mass productions, attracting customers from all kinds of layers of society. IKEA Key success factors International franchise Success Factors of IKEA 3 Table of Contents 1. Table of Contents ..................................................................................... 3 2. Introduction .............................................................................................. 4 3. Discussion ................................................................................................ 4 3.1 The Self-Service Approach ............................................................. 4 3.2 Advantageous Tax Planning and Decentralized Management ........ 5 3...
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...The reason behind choosing the IKEA is because IKEA is one of the world’s most successful retailers. IKEA is a global furniture brand inspired by the egalitarian society of its Swedish heritage and appears to the public to be forever Swedish. It expands its retail stores all over the world including North American, European Middle East and Asian countries but also spreads a kind of its own a highly strong business culture and values with a strong Swedish image to other countries through the establishment of business there. History: IKEA was founded in 1943 in Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad. Kamprad was born in 1926 as the son of a farmer in Småland, a region in southern Sweden. At the age of five Ingvar Kamprad starts selling matches to his nearby neighbors and by the time he is seven, he expands to selling flower seeds, greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, pencils and ball-point pens. In 1943, at the age of 17, Kamprad became an entrepreneur and created a commercial company called "IKEA." The word IKEA was an acronym of his name and “Ingvar Kamprad” and the address, the name of his farm and village: “Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd”. Company initially sold fish, vegetable seeds, and magazines to customers in his region. Then in 1950 IKEA added furniture and home furnishings to the product line. IKEA entered new markets around the globe in the 1980s. IKEA expands dramatically into new markets such as USA, Italy, France and the UK. Operating Environment: Ikea is the world's largest furniture...
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...Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK Department of Business Administration, Lund University, P.O. Box 7080, SE-220 07 Lund, Sweden c Department of Communication Studies, Lund University, Campus Helsingborg, PO Box 882, SE-251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden b a r t i c l e in fo Available online 29 September 2010 Keywords: IKEA Retail internationalisation Retail marketing mix Standardisation Sweden the UK China abstract IKEA is often cited as an example of a ‘global’ retailer which pursues a similar ‘standardized’ approach in every market. This paper systematically assesses the degree of standardisation (and adaptation) of four commonly identified retail marketing mix activities – merchandise, location and store format, the selling and service environment, and market communication – within three countries. These countries – Sweden, the UK and China – represent different cultural settings and are markets in which IKEA has been operating for different lengths of time. The data upon which the comparison is based was generated from personal interviews, in-country consumer research, company documentation and third party commentaries. The conclusions drawn suggest that whilst IKEA operates a standardized concept, degrees of adaptation can be observed in customer facing elements, and in the supporting ‘back office’ processes which support these elements. These adaptations arise from differences in consumer cultures and the length of...
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...social and ethical values such as: 1) Production/products 2) Suppliers 3) Customers 4) Workers 5) Environment 6) Local communities All of these factors have an impact on the workplace. Products/ Production: This is a print screen from the Ikea website and this shows that Ikea is very caring about the environment and they try to make sure that even at low prices that the quality of the product is still very good and they ensure they’re customers that products are safe, have good quality and are still designed to be efficient even if they are at low prices. This on they’re website ensures the customers because it is against the law to sell goods or services with the wrong description of the product and the customers will get they’re money back if the product isn’t what the description told them it would be. In my personal opinion I would trust Ikea’s ensurence of they’re products and the way they are made because my personal experience with Ikea is good every product my parents or my family has bought from Ikea lives up to it’s expectation and this proves to they’re customers that even with low prices their products have good quality, the materials used efficiently and that they are caring for the environment. If a customer’s still not sure weather they should buy an Ikea product then they can check reviews from other customers and based on their experience weather good or bad then they can decide weather to buy Ikea products or not. Source: http://www...
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...ABSTRACT Distribution logistic plays an important role in international companies or in Multinational Corporation. It is because most company preferred more competence in the complex and global market. Nowadays customers more concern about how long their ordered product reach to them rather than worrying how the company will deliver the products. As a consequence, time can be used as an indicator in distribution logistic. This research is conducted to explain the consequences of distribution logistic and the way IKEA will gain competitive advantage by utilizing it. We will identify the key elements in distribution logistics and find the competitive advantages of IKEA through analyzing the case study of IKEA and they are: speed, dependability and last but not least is flexibility. Keyword: IKEA, Distribution logistic, Competitive advantage. INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Logistics management is the governance of supply chain functions. Logistics management is important not solely to producing and assembly industries, that are goods-oriented, however conjointly to selling, transport and alternative distribution or service- oriented industries. Daskin (1985) defined logistics as “the design and operation of the physical, managerial and informational systems needed to allow goods to overcome time and space”. Another definition promulgated by the Council of Logistics Management Ballou (1992) is: the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective...
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