According to the latest trend, the online purchase is putting pressure on retail stores to go online to increase their sales and revenue. To gain more customers retailers are showing importance to optimizing a mix of online and offline tactics. Researches have shown that people tend to look online before purchasing any products. Moreover, a company’s websites and email generate business for both online channels and offline stores.
To keep up with the new ‘hype’ traditional brands are modifying their business models to capitalize on the consumer preference by developing new strategies for online and in-store. By giving thrust authenticity and relevance is the main step for survival as well as reinvention. In this task the topic will discuss the foreign brand IKEA, in comparison with Chinese brand Gome, and Malaysian brand Parkson.
IKEA owns approximately 345 stores worldwide, but only sells online in 26 markets. The IKEA group is now speeding up in e-commence expansion although the most of the deliver does not offer full range in online.
The Swedish firm, IKEA, is still investing heavily on physical stores however the Germany head IKEA Group expects 10% sales to come from e-commerce. IKEA is reluctant, at this moment, to embrace e-commerce because it wants to give the customers a shopping experience, such as cafes with play areas as well as driving incidental purchases of high margin accessories. “When associates are engaged and energized, they bring a brand to life through
IKEA is a world famous furnishing company known for selling Scandinavian-style furniture and other home-based goods. The company has over 230 stores, with operations carried out in over 42 countries with well over 70 000 employees. The stores themselves can occupy 410 million shoppers per year. It is a Swedish based company built on the idea of offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products such low prices, that a majority of people will be able to afford them. The IKEA group is currently solely owned by the INGKA Foundation through a holding company, unlisted on any stock exchange.
This paper aims to demonstrate a detailed description of the elements of ‘IKEA’ company based on its famous name in the furniture industry.
IKEA to maintain their leading position will keep diversifying their products offerings always based on the “democratic aesthetic”. They will continue offering aesthetic, quality and low-priced products. Moreover, they will expand IKEA concept by opening new to stores to make their furniture available for everyone. For instance, from now to two years IKEA planned to make available to 80% of French population a store at less one hour of road. They will focus at developing its online activities to compete with the pure players. Now, most of their products are available on the IKEA website. The group has developed the “click and collect”, which is available in mostly stores. To accelerate the e-commerce transition IKEA planned to integrate external operators
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In 1951, to reduce product returns, he opened a display store in nearby Älmhult village to allow customers to inspect products before buying. It was an immediate success, with customers traveling seven hours from the capital Stockholm by train to visit. Based on the store’s success, IKEA stopped accepting mail orders. Later Kamprad reflected, “The basis of the modern IKEA concept was created [at this time] and in principle it still applies. First and foremost, we use a catalog to tempt people to visit an exhibition, which today is our store. . . . Then, catalog in hand, customers can see simple interiors for themselves, touch the furniture they want to buy and then write out an order.”2 As Kamprad developed and refined his furniture retailing business model he became increasingly frustrated with the way a tightly knit cartel of furniture manufacturers controlled the Swedish industry to keep prices high. He began to view the situation not just as a business opportunity but also as an unacceptable social problem that he wanted to correct. Foreshadowing a vision for IKEA that would later be articulated as “creating a better life for the many people,” he wrote: “A disproportionately large part of all resources is used to satisfy a small part of the population. . . . IKEA’s aim is to change this situation. We shall offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function at prices so low that the majority of
Online purchasing is becoming more and more practical thing for contemporary customer. It is explained by high internet penetration in every country, lower cost than in retail network, door to door delivery. Internet plays an important role nowadays; therefore it creates a new market, which sometimes is quite difficult to measure. Online shopping is different from the B&M shopping due to the fact that there is no physical presence of goods, from other standpoint internet is able to sell way more services and motivation and decision making process directly connected to the feedbacks.
Consumers demonstrate different behaviors when shopping online and offline. These differences affect not only the strategy but also how that strategy is finally implemented from an operationally. Because the experiences considered online and offline
In IKEA’s history two different modes of entry were used. Both were met with big success and allowed IKEA to enter new markets very easily, and in a secure way.
IKEA is rumored to be a very standardized retailer, i.e., a certain set of marketing strategies is used that are the same around the world. This indeed sets IKEA, operating on markets in Europe, US as well as Asia and Australia, apart among international retailers. Often the theoretical conclusions in international
IKEA is the largest furniture chain in the world, and in 2011 the Swedish company operated over 270 stores in 25 countries. In 2011 IKEA sales soared to over $35 billion, or over 20% of the global furniture market. Most of its stuffs believed IKEA will massive growth throughout the world in the coming decade because IKEA could provide what customer wanted: good design, and good made contemporary furniture with an affordable price. In one word, IKEA’s global approach focuses on simplicity, attention to detail, cost consciousness, and responsiveness in every aspect of its operations and behavior. (Jones, 2013)
The IKEA Group, one of the world’s top furniture retailers, has emerged as the fastest-growing furniture retailer in the US. Its unique business strategy has given it its strengths for its success today. However, like all strategies, IKEA’s strategy has its own flaws that can pose as weaknesses. IKEA also has a lot of opportunities in the marketplace such as expansions of their company and threats such as competitors in the same industry.
In august 2008, IKEA had total 253 stores where 560 million people visited. Here the total sales became 23 billion Euros. Considering 20% sales profit here IKEA’s average customer per store and cost per store are given below:
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
IKEA’s strategy before the mishaps in America could be characterized as going against the norm charting their own path to success using low priced manufactures to secure lower selling prices aimed to target those who were of older age and of middle class standing. Their new strategy was to target those of a younger demographic, young married couples, college students, and 20-30 something singles. By reemphasizing design, promoting through hip quirky advertisements, and encouraging consumers to do away with their old furniture, IKEA revenues doubled in a four-year period. IKEA today has adapted somewhat of a local customization strategy where their store layouts will resemble that of many local household layouts as proven by their success in China where they failed to expand beforehand. They also keep their prices extremely low in some areas as China by sourcing a large percentage of products in the area of operation.
IKEA has adapted to the operations function of a business. This function is the main function of every company. This key function, of which IKEA has adapted to, is the business function responsible for managing the process of creation of goods and services. The operations function is responsible for organising, coordinating, planning, and controlling the resources that are required in the production of goods and services. IKEA has effectively implemented this function by understanding the needs of customers. In particular, this applies to those who have a lower income, and/or, limited space. IKEA’s employees within the product design and product development departments, focus directly on the price and quality, as well as the design and function of products. Elements of the design are typically agreed on within the factory itself, this is where manufacturers and designers work together, to create a product with regard to the greatest use of raw materials and manufacturing opportunities. IKEA’s operations have proved effective as in 2013 it earned $35.5 billion. IKEA has a large amount of suppliers, greater than 1300. IKEA purchases most of their