IKEA is On Top of the Furniture World
Madeline Hart
Mr. Bruce Richardson
Principles of Management
20 October 2014 IKEA is On Top of the Furniture World There are certain necessities that consumers will buy in their lifetime. Furniture is on the top of that list. With so many consumers shopping to decorate and make their homes livable, there is a definite competition out in the furniture world today. One company name stands out more than others. IKEA sits with a high reputation among consumers and other businesses. They not only strive to make contemporary and stylish furniture pieces, but also make their inventory affordable enough that the average person would be able to buy it. Although there are many furniture companies competing to be successful, IKEA leads the charts as number one. IKEA started its journey in 1943 by the company’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad (Bing, Zaleski and Gediman). The journey was conceptualized much earlier than that though. Kamprad had envisioned having his own business at the age of 5. Starting out at the age of only 17, Kamprad is given some reward money by his father (IKEA). With this money, he uses it to establish his own business, IKEA. IKEA originally sold pens, wallets, picture frames, watches, and jewelry; Not furniture. Furniture was introduced 5 years later in 1948. The response to the first line of furniture is quite positive, so Kamprad continues to expand the line. With his success, Kamprad decides that he would like to sell the furniture on a larger scale. In 1951, the IKEA catalog is born. In today’s world, this catalog is still very sought after and anticipated every season. Not only are the catalogs popular, but also the furniture showrooms. This feature was added in 1953 and gave IKEA most of the competitive advantage at that time. For the first time, customers can feel, touch, and look at IKEA furniture without ordering it. This innovation was also a success. IKEA was now climbing the scales of the furniture market. To only further this success, in
Mr. Bruce Richardson
Principles of Management
20 October 2014 IKEA is On Top of the Furniture World There are certain necessities that consumers will buy in their lifetime. Furniture is on the top of that list. With so many consumers shopping to decorate and make their homes livable, there is a definite competition out in the furniture world today. One company name stands out more than others. IKEA sits with a high reputation among consumers and other businesses. They not only strive to make contemporary and stylish furniture pieces, but also make their inventory affordable enough that the average person would be able to buy it. Although there are many furniture companies competing to be successful, IKEA leads the charts as number one. IKEA started its journey in 1943 by the company’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad (Bing, Zaleski and Gediman). The journey was conceptualized much earlier than that though. Kamprad had envisioned having his own business at the age of 5. Starting out at the age of only 17, Kamprad is given some reward money by his father (IKEA). With this money, he uses it to establish his own business, IKEA. IKEA originally sold pens, wallets, picture frames, watches, and jewelry; Not furniture. Furniture was introduced 5 years later in 1948. The response to the first line of furniture is quite positive, so Kamprad continues to expand the line. With his success, Kamprad decides that he would like to sell the furniture on a larger scale. In 1951, the IKEA catalog is born. In today’s world, this catalog is still very sought after and anticipated every season. Not only are the catalogs popular, but also the furniture showrooms. This feature was added in 1953 and gave IKEA most of the competitive advantage at that time. For the first time, customers can feel, touch, and look at IKEA furniture without ordering it. This innovation was also a success. IKEA was now climbing the scales of the furniture market. To only further this success, in
Cited: Bing, J., Zaleski, J., Gediman, P., & Abbott, C. “Leading by design: The IKEA story.” Publishers Weekly, 246 (1999): 174. Proquest. Web. 19 September 2014. Ikea.com. Ad. Anonymous. 2014. Web. 5 October 2014. Jones, Gareth and George, Jennifer. Contemporary Management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin: New York, 2014. Print.