OVERVIEW OF IKEA I. HISTORY Ingvar Kamprad: The founder of IKEA‚ Ingvar Kamprad‚ began his business career as a young boy selling matches purchased in bulk individually for a profit to his neighbors near Agunnaryd. As his business grew‚ he expanded to selling fish‚ seeds‚ Christmas decorations and eventually‚ pencils and ball-point pens which were a new phenomenon in 1935. He was very clever in utilizing his resources - he delivered his goods by bicycle‚ and later used the local milk delivery
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Industry Watch Report The American Furniture Industry: What Will It Take to Survive? The first decade of the 21st century has not been kind to the American furniture industry. Having experienced the “Asian Invasion‚” which rapidly eliminated nearly all domestic wood production and disrupted upholstery production‚ the industry is now facing a severe economic slowdown‚ with incoming orders 20 to 40 percent below normal levels. The combined impact of the competitive off-shore onslaught and the domestic
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1. Within a highly fragmented furniture market in the US‚ the top ten retailers in 2002 accounted only for 14.2% of total market share. The market was primarily split between low-en and high-end retailers. Low-end retailers primarily focused on offering a wide array of merchandise including furniture on the basis of low prices. Aside from tight margins as part of a low-pricing strategy‚ there were also several “small-store retailers” targeting college students and other consumers with constricted
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The IKEA approach Kevan Scholes* ‘In times when many nations and people face economic challenges our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people is more relevant than ever. To make it possible to furnish functionally‚ individually and sustainably – even when the economy is tight.’ This was Mikael Ohlsson‚ IKEA’s Chief Executive‚ speaking in 20121 while reporting a sales increase of 6.9 per cent (to b25.2 billion)‚ profits of b3 billion and share gains in most markets. At the same
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Corporate Social Responsibility 2012 IKEA Case Analysis I. Analyze: Identify Issue and its Scope The primary CSR issue reflected in this case is the use of child labor by one of IKEA’s Indian carpet supplier. The supplier was explicitly made to sign the contract which restricted the use of children below the age of 14 to be used as laborers. The practice of child labor is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries. The fifth principle
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Price IKEA’s strategy is based on cost leadership. Across markets where it currently has a presence‚ products are sold at low prices. Prices are 30 to 50% lower than competing products. Price variations are only a result of fluctuations in exchange rates. This penetration pricing enables IKEA to gain significant market share. Low prices are a result of large-quantity purchasing‚ low-cost logistics‚ store location in suburban areas and a DIY approach to marketing. IKEA also benefits from
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The IKEA Concept began when Ingvar Kamprad‚ an entrepreneur from the Smaland province in Sweden came up with a creative idea. It was only a few years earlier in 1939 that WWII began‚ causing trading between countries to become limited. In sight of this‚ Kamprad found a need to provide furniture at a lower cost‚ than manufacturers‚ to the farmers in Smaland. In the remote town of Agunnaryd‚ the people have a reputation for working hard and making the most of their available limited resources (Torekull
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Competitive Strategies and Government Policies Externalities are defined as decisions of consumption‚ production and investment made by individuals or businesses that affect third parties not involved directly in the transactions. The governments intervene in the economy to deal with externalities. Pollution is the most common examples of the negative effects of externalities. Some companies make decisions based on the costs and benefits without considering the indirect costs accepted by the victims
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INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND Ikea Svenska AB‚ founded in 1943 is the world ’s largest furniture retailer which specializes in stylish but inexpensive Scandinavian designed furniture. It has 128 fully-owned stores in 26 countries‚ visited by over 108 million people yearly and worldwide sales of about $5.4 billion in 1994. IKEA ’s success in the retail industry can be attributed to its vast experience in the retail market‚ product differentiation‚ and cost leadership. The company is‚ perhaps‚ one of
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DESCRIBE THE VISION‚ MISSION AND OBJECTIVES OF IKEA AND ALSO ITS TAGLINES. Based on our findings‚ the IKEAS’s vision‚ mission‚ objectives and its taglines are as follows: Vision: ‘’To create a better everyday life for the many people.’’ To meet this vision IKEA provides many well-designed‚ functional products for the home. Its prices its product low so that as many people as possible can afford to buy them. However‚ in creating low prices IKEA is not willing to sacrifice its principle‚ ‘Low
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