Ikea Case Study Analysis

IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad. IKEA is a home furnishings retailer unlike any other. It was founded on the basis of low cost and it offers modern and stylish furniture for all types of people at affordable prices. IKEA’s unique way of shopping, store layout, and do-it-yourself approach continues to help maintain their popularity.

This paper aims to demonstrate a detailed description of the elements of ‘IKEA’ company based on its famous name in the furniture industry.

Both political and economic events can trigger a crisis. Political trends and laws are standards

However, the investment was not without risks. There are four types of risks in international business called cross-culture risk, country risk, currency risk and commercial risk. Cross-cultural risk refers to a situation or event where a cultural miscommunication puts some human value at stake. Country risk describes the potentially adverse effects on company operations and profitability holes by developments in the political, legal, and economic environment in a foreign country. Currency risk is the risk of adverse unexpected fluctuations in exchange rates. Commercial risk refers to potential loss or failure from poorly developed or executed business strategies, tactics, or procedures (Boter & Wincent, 2010). Investment in Rulmenti Grei, Timken might face the salient risks of political and economic instability. Romania’s economic growth was slower, inflation was higher, and the labor force was more volatile. Furthermore, there might be a risk of re-nationalization. It is said that economic risk analysis tells corporate leaders the ability of a particular country to pay its debt while political risk analysis tells them whether that country will pay its debt. Political risk measures the stability of individual countries through the

The operations and earnings of the Corporation and its affiliates throughout the world have been affected in political factors. For a company with global operations, geopolitical risk is always an

IKEA is one of the largest multinational companies in the world dealing with several products. The company sells and designs furniture appliances and home accessories at an affordable price. Ikea has over three hundred stores worldwide enjoying the good name it has created for itself. While they are one of the most profitable furniture companies in the world there are significant challenges and threats that have been overcome and are still needed to be tackled.

IKEA was truly built from the ground up. It was started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad when he was 17 years old, from a shed on the family farm. In the beginning, the company sold fish, Christmas magazines, and seeds to eventually add pens, then furniture to its product list. In the beginning the company had used the milk truck as part of its delivery system to get orders to the train station. In 1953 when the milk truck changed it route, it was no longer available to get items to the train station. This motivated Ingvar to invest in a nearby idle factory and convert it into a warehouse. By this time, with the help of the free catalog which started back in 1949, the business was

From its low cost structure to its corporate culture (“The IKEA Way”) to the do-it-yourself approach (replete with measuring tapes, paper, and pencils available in-store) plus its strong brand image (representative of high quality, low-cost ,trendy, modern and fashionable

IKEA implements new product service design and development to offer their quality products at a cheaper price to suit people’s contemporary needs and circumstances. They focus on the price and quality, design and function, environment and health of their new product service design and development to minimize waste and

Political risk is the possibility of negative events such as expropriation of assets, changes in tax policy, expropriation for minimal compensation below market value, restrictions on the exchange of foreign currency, governmental controls in the foreign country, local governments requiring equity positions, or other changes in the business climate of a country. International business can lead to these types of political risks and studying the market can help to lessen the damage that can be done.

IKEA target on specific new market and segments with the existing product characteristic: low price, joint venture and brand reputation. The international expansion could help them to increase market share, reduce cost, increase profit and acquire customer.

IKEA has marketed its products well and has dealt with all the problems easily. But there have been some constraints that came in the way of IKEA and alternative strategies have to be developed for them. These strategies are as follows:

IKEA’s vision is to design a better life at home. Making it affordable as possible so that many people could have admirable furnishing. IKEA use function, quality, design and value to obtain their customer needs. IKEA learn to synchronise the contingency of the supplier and needs of the customers. Using that strategy to sustain the low prices. In order to gain a good condition of a product, IKEA go in for highly automated production. Together with mass producing and keeping long-term relationship with the supplier, IKEA is able to prolong their vision and aim to serve their customers. (Ikea.com/sg)

In PEST analysis, we will look into what will be affect by the business environment. It includes political environment, economical environment, social environment and technological environment.

IKEA established itself as the largest furniture retailer in Sweden by the early 1970s by reinventing the wheel of furniture manufacturing at that time. Majority of furniture manufacturers in Sweden produced expensive products with designs that were basic or passed down generation to generation, additionally other manufacturers stores where located in downtown congested areas. IKEA’s strategies which consisted of low cost low priced furniture, brave intricate designs, self-assembly,