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Strategic Management Ikea Case Study

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Strategic Management Ikea Case Study
Strategic Management

IKEA Case Study

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 3

IKEA Strategy Description: Porter’s Generic Strategy Options Page 4

IKEA Strategy Description: Ansoff Matrix Page 7

IKEA Strategy Evaluation: Suitability Page 9

IKEA Strategy Evaluation: Porter’s 5 Forces Page 9

IKEA Strategy Evaluation: Capabilities Page 11

IKEA Strategy Evaluation: SWOT-Analysis Page 12

Stakeholder Expectations: Page 14

Conclusion: Page 15

References: Page 16

Introduction

IKEA has been one of Europe’s greatest recent success stories. Founded by a Swede of German origin in the 1940’s, the company has grown to become one of the largest and most profitable corporations in the world, and elevated its founder to the rank of being one of the richest human beings in the world (Forbes Magazine, 2006).
IKEA came to the United Kingdom during a time of great expansion for the company – the 1980’s. Initially only operating one store, the furniture giant now operates 18 within the region, with a UK revenue of £1.15 billion in 2011 (Cripps, 2012; BBC News, 2012). IKEA is now the most popular furniture store in the UK, and has achieved phenomenal growth throughout the European continent – it is estimated that 1 in 10 Europeans are now conceived in an IKEA bed (Rohrer, 2005).
In this case study, IKEA’s business level strategy in the UK market will be described and evaluated.
A business level strategy refers to how a company intends to compete and sustain competitive advantage over its rivals in an industry, whilst a corporate level strategy refers to a far broader outlook such as whether a company should be operating in a given industry in the first place (Johnson et al, 2011). Only IKEA’s business level strategy for the UK will be analyzed in this work, a detailed description of which will be achieved through Porter’s Generic Strategy Options and the Ansoff Matrix. Through the Generic Strategy Options, IKEA’s corporate



References: Arthurs, D. (2012) The flatpack revolution is here! Ikea overtakes John Lewis as Britain’s favourite shop. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2131518/Ikea-overtakes-John-Lewis-Britains-favourite-shop.html [accessed 2 August 2012] Ballinger, L BBC News (2012). Ikea profits rise 10% as emerging markets boost sales. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16649251 [accessed 24 July 2012] BBC News (2005) The pleasure and pain of Ikea BBC Learning English (2012) Episode 12: Michael Porter – biography. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/work/handy/porterbiography.shtml [accessed 28 July 2012] BBC News (2000) Ikea’s self-assembled billionaire BBC News (1999) Ikea staff assemble own pay packets. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/469640.stm [accessed 14 August 2012] BBC News (1997) IKEA accused of exploiting child workers The British Furniture Confederation (2012) About the Furniture Industry. http://www.britishfurnitureconfederation.org.uk/about_furniture_industry.php [accessed 5 August 2012] Buttle, F China Daily (2006) IKEA founder proud to be frugal at 80. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-03/27/content_552834.htm [accessed 22 July 2012] Chardy, A Collins, L. (2011) House Perfect: Is the IKEA ethos comfy or creepy? http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/03/111003fa_fact_collins [accessed 7 August 2012] Cripps, P The Economist (2011) Furniture shops: The secret of IKEA’s success. http://www.economist.com/node/18229400 [accessed 30 July 2012] The Economist (2006) IKEA: Flat-pack accounting Forbes Magazine (2006) Ingvar Kamprad, The World’s Richest People. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/BWQ7.html [accessed 12 July 2012] Forbes Magazine (2007) The Frugal Billionaires The Guardian (2004) Ikea: The history. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2004/jun/17/shopping.homes2 [accessed 24 July 2012] Hansegard, J IKEA (2012) Swedish heritage. http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/swedish_heritage/index.html [accessed 28 July 2012] Ireland, R Johnson, G.; Whittington, R.; Scholes, K. (2011) Exploring Strategy: Text & Cases. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited Lynch, R NGFL Wales Business Studies A Level Resources (2009) The Ansoff Matrix. http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/ansoff_matrix-2.pdf [accessed 28 July 2012] Porter, M Porter, M. E. (2004) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press Reuters (2012) IKEA replaces some Asian suppliers with Italians Rushe, D. (2011) Financial crisis was caused by corporate mismanagement, says US government. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/26/financial-crisis-us-commission [accessed 12 August 2012] Scholes, K Simmons, J. (2005) Ikea – the brand of the many. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/jun/12/theobserver.observerbusiness4 [accessed 25 July 2012] Singh, U Sommerich, P.; Kollewe, J. (2008) Ikea flat-pack furniture sales hit by downturn. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/10/retail.creditcrunch [accessed 14 July 2012] Sweney, M. (2010) Ikea ads switch from guerrillas to cats. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/09/ikea-ad-cats [accessed 2 August 2012] Swinscoe, A Sylt, C. (2005) Ingvar Kamprad: Leader of the flatpack. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/ingvar-kamprad-leader-of-the-flatpack-6152615.html [accessed 23 July 2012] The Times (2012) IKEA: Case studies in The Times 100 Vaynerchuk, G. (2011) The Thank You Economy. New York: HarperCollins Watson, L WantChinaTimes (2012) IKEA suppliers reportedly lower product quality to cut costs. http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1206&MainCatID=12&id=20120628000084 [accessed 2 August 2012] Webb, T Weinstein, A. (2012) Superior Customer Value: Strategies for Winning and Retaining Customers. Boca Raton: CRC Press

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