Ikea Case Study Questions
MKT 4001
CONTEMPORARY MARKETING STRATEGY
Ikea CASE STUDY
Lecturer:
Dr. Ian Michael
BY
SALMAN MAQSOOD SHEIKH
M00122796
Word count - approx. 1700 WORDS
Question 1
Develop a profile of the typical ikea customer. To what extent does this profile vary across countries?
Ikea has managed to create an unbeatable atmosphere throughout each and every store they have opened world-wide. Paying attention to every little detail from beddings to photo frames, it gives visitors a sense of being at home regardless of their cultural or ethnic background. Every single display at Ikea instigates the feeling to push forward and see more, this is because the company focuses completely on the customer. A person can walk into the store without the intent of spending and walks out buying something at the end. The customers that shop from Ikea can be divided into many categories, and this can be based on a lot of different typologies too. There can be casual customers, who decide to do some small accessory shopping, there can be people who visit the store to eat at the restaurant, The typical Ikea customer can range from low to upper-middleclass, usually young couples or families. They can be first time home owners or movers. And they can be of diverse cultures, in places such as Dubai, where population is vastly diversified, you can find a lot of different people having the same buying behavior at Ikea. This profile can differ across different countries in a variety of ways, there can be economical factors, or demographic factor and it can also depend on the level of disposable income the middleclass people have. For example, China is the Largest supplier of Ikea products in the world, and a typical Chinese Ikea customer earns about Yen 3,300($399)per month the national average is Yen 1,000($121) and buys Yen 300($36) of merchandise per visit. Most of these customers are 20 to 35 years old but the store has repositioned itself to reach the target age of 45 as well, In general
CONTEMPORARY MARKETING STRATEGY
Ikea CASE STUDY
Lecturer:
Dr. Ian Michael
BY
SALMAN MAQSOOD SHEIKH
M00122796
Word count - approx. 1700 WORDS
Question 1
Develop a profile of the typical ikea customer. To what extent does this profile vary across countries?
Ikea has managed to create an unbeatable atmosphere throughout each and every store they have opened world-wide. Paying attention to every little detail from beddings to photo frames, it gives visitors a sense of being at home regardless of their cultural or ethnic background. Every single display at Ikea instigates the feeling to push forward and see more, this is because the company focuses completely on the customer. A person can walk into the store without the intent of spending and walks out buying something at the end. The customers that shop from Ikea can be divided into many categories, and this can be based on a lot of different typologies too. There can be casual customers, who decide to do some small accessory shopping, there can be people who visit the store to eat at the restaurant, The typical Ikea customer can range from low to upper-middleclass, usually young couples or families. They can be first time home owners or movers. And they can be of diverse cultures, in places such as Dubai, where population is vastly diversified, you can find a lot of different people having the same buying behavior at Ikea. This profile can differ across different countries in a variety of ways, there can be economical factors, or demographic factor and it can also depend on the level of disposable income the middleclass people have. For example, China is the Largest supplier of Ikea products in the world, and a typical Chinese Ikea customer earns about Yen 3,300($399)per month the national average is Yen 1,000($121) and buys Yen 300($36) of merchandise per visit. Most of these customers are 20 to 35 years old but the store has repositioned itself to reach the target age of 45 as well, In general
References: Miller, M.P. (2004). _IKEA with Chinese Characteristics._ Available: http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0407/company_profile.html. Last accessed 12/18/2009. Owens, H. _Ikea: the natural step case study._ Available: http://www.naturalstep.org/en/usa/ikea. Last accessed 12/18/2009. Porter, M.E. (1985) Competitive Advantage, Free Press, New York, 1985. Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA Salman Maqsood Shiekh M00122796