The written assignment should not be more than 2500 words type written double spacing using Times New Roman
Question 1: The Strategy of International Business
In doing business in Asia, it has been suggested that the business organizations should be responsive to local describe one
business culture and conditions You are required to systematically
“best -practice”
foreign firm
that has demonstrated
its
success in
responding to pressure to local responsiveness of the host country.
[100 marks]
IKEA international expansion in China
1.0 Introduction
Ingvar Kamprad was 17 year old when he founded Ikea in 1943. Ikea name is the combination of IK, Kamprad’s initial, E, first letters of the farm Elmtaryd and village,
Agunnaryd in southern Sweden where Kamprad grew up. Ikea has since become one of the largest and most popular home furnishing retail shop in the world.
Ikea international expansion and development is very fast. It is now one of the world major and leading brand in home furnishings retail. Today, the number of stores stand at more than
300 in more than 42 countries. They have more than 15,000 co-workers and 46 production units. Total sales amounted to 23 billion Euros at 2011.
Ikea retailing has a Swedish roots. It operates a franchise system. Inter Ikea Systems B.V., located in Delft, The Netherlands owns the franchise and the Ikea Concept. Ikea stores in various countries are run by different franchisees.
1.1 The business concept
IKEA was founded on the principles of frugality and low cost. The concept of IKEA is based the vision statement:
IKEA supplies flat-pack, ready to be assembled furniture at a reduced cost. Low prices are one of the cornerstones of the IKEA concept. Everyone is their target market. The simple design and packaging allows them to save money on manufacturing and distribution. Wide range of products is available in all IKEA stores and customers can make their order online through IKEA’s