Ikea Entering Russia Case Study

IKEA specializes in ready-to-assemble furniture that is of good quality. It also specializes in food and other cheap accessories for the house. Because of its uniqueness and low prices for such good quality, it is very likely that consumers may deem it incomparable and thus reduces their ultimate range of choices for alternatives.

Considering the previous mission statement with a unique customer vision IKEA is clearly antagonistic with specific customers’ needs. That lack of adjustment to customer needs is the main reason for not getting the same results in China than in Northern Europe.

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 considered to be a low cost, high quality producer in the furniture industry, therefore it is important to

With such situation, IKEA faces several challenges in this competitive market. In order to prevent to be substituted, IKEA need to improve on marketing strategy. I have two ideas of marketing strategy which is online store and IKEA collaborate with real estate.

IKEA is a unique Swedish furniture company. The company we so widely recognize today for selling good quality budget friendly Scandinavian style furniture began in 1943 as merely selling pens picture frames and wallets. Ikea was founded by a then 17year old Ivor Kampard, of the farm Elmtaryd near the small village of Agunnard in Smaland, hence giving rise to the name IKEA. This area is know for its thrifty and hard working ethos and Kampard very much incorporated this into his business venture. His innovative idea was to offer home furnishing products of good function and design at prices much lower than competitors by simply using cost-cutting solutions that did not affect the quality of products.

IKEA had to start designing more of its furniture in house and found a manufacturer who would produce IKEA-designed furniture. In this process, the manufacturer was in Poland where they found it is 50% cheaper than to manufacture in Sweden, allowing him to cut prices even more. Here the furniture industry continued to evolve with new technology and cost savings.

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 is the world’s largest retailer of home furnishings. It strives to provide simple, functional, modern, and useful products at affordable prices to as many people as possible in as many places regardless of their geographical location. IKEA concept is implemented from the start of idea, implemented into the design, manufacture, logistics, sales and final assembly of each product. IKEA was developed by Ingvar Kamprad from southern Sweden, where people are known for surviving and making the most from limited resources.

In this business report on the global retail business IKEA, it will cover the nature of business, influences on operations, operation processes, operation strategies and how the business can sustain competitive advantage. IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Älmhult, Sweden. The business established after and with the money his father awarded him for succeeding in his studies, Kamprad sustained a cash inflow by selling pens, wallets, watches, picture frames, table runners, jewellery and nylon stockings at reduced prices to customers. Although, later on in 1958, IKEA was introduced as a leader of Swedish Furniture Company as they started to produce local furniture by the Swedish local manufacturers, which gained positive attention from their customers. Eventually, developing flat packs of furniture for storage and self assembly, making their signature style of IKEA and turning the small business into a global sensation.

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)

IKEA stayed in Russia during their economic downturn gaining respect from the Russian public and government. To say competitive IKEA has tried to lower cost without losing quality in their

1. IntroductionIKEA, the famous Swedish company, is the one of the largest furniture retailers in the world, which specializes in modern but inexpensive Scandinavian designed furniture. According to Echeat (2006), the IKEA had more than 175 stores spread over 31 countries at the end of 2002 and worldwide sales of about 12.8 billion euros in 2004. During the IKEA financial year 2001-2002, a total of 60,000 people are employed by IKEA worldwide and there are 323 million people visited IKEA stores around the world (Kronos, 2006).

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 towards its suppliers is that of a low production costs strategy. IKEA wants to sell its products at the lowest possible price therefore their