IKEA is a furniture business group owned by Swedish billionaire Ingvar Kamprad. After more than 50 years of establishment, IKEA has become a giant multinational corporation with furniture shopping centers located in 31 different countries and 76,000 employees. IKEA's annual sales reach over 12 billion euros.
Here are IKEA's 10 key secrets to this success.
Tip 1: The catalog
Anyone who picks up an IKEA catalogue will notice that this is no ordinary catalogue. The IKEA catalogue is not simply a list of products for sale, but a unique book that presents ideas for furniture and interior decoration.
That is why no other “book” is printed and read as much as the IKEA catalogue. Every year, 118 million copies of the IKEA catalogue are printed and distributed in 23 different languages.
Secret 2: IKEA Global
IKEA has grown steadily and has become a multinational corporation. IKEA is currently present in over 30 countries. The IKEA development strategy of the owner Ingvar Kamprad is to continue expanding the market worldwide, quickly capturing market share in potential markets such as Eastern Europe and East Asia.
In just the last five years, the number of IKEA shopping centres has doubled. Every year, 285 million customers worldwide visit IKEA.
Secret 3: Low production costs
IKEA increasingly focuses on sourcing goods from countries with low labor costs. IKEA products are ordered from 1,800 manufacturers in 55 different countries around the world.
Asian countries are increasingly becoming important partners of IKEA, especially China and recently ASEAN countries.
Secret 4: Sales Model
Understanding the need to buy and the psychology of often going with the whole family when shopping for furniture, the IKEA shopping mall model is organized in conjunction with restaurant services, coffee shops and entertainment services for children. Therefore, IKEA has created for customers, often the whole family, a feeling of relaxation and comfort when shopping here.
Many people, even though they don’t intend to buy furniture, still have the habit of regularly visiting IKEA. And in fact, very few people who come here leave empty-handed.
Tip 5: Product Name
Naming products is a very unique and special business culture of IKEA. Every wooden product of the group, no matter where it is sold in the world, has the same name. And these names (such as Billy bookshelf, Moment sofa set...) are often easy to remember, impressive, and attractive.
Tip 6: Save for your customers
With the motto of saving for customers, for customers, the IKEA model has been designed so that customers can choose, transport and assemble their own wooden furniture at home.
To do that, IKEA spent a lot of effort designing and assembling wooden furniture parts in the easiest and most convenient way for every average customer.
Tip 7: Don't just sell furniture
When analyzing IKEA’s business results, many people are surprised to see that real wooden furniture only accounts for about 50% of sales. The remaining half of IKEA’s revenue comes from food services and from selling related products such as household appliances, dishes, vases, blankets, curtains, etc. On average, each IKEA shopping center has up to 10,000 different items.
Tip 8: Pay attention to women
Ingvar Kamprad in particular and IKEA in general pay great attention to researching the buying behavior of customers, especially women. IKEA's market and customer research shows that when it comes to buying furniture and household items, women are often more interested and make more purchasing decisions.
That is why the sales layout and product categories at IKEA are very much oriented towards women's psychology and shopping behavior.
Secret 9: Environmental awareness
IKEA pays special attention to building an image and reputation of IKEA as a group that is always at the forefront of environmental protection. That is why IKEA always refuses to use products containing chemicals and wood from tropical forests that are being violated.
IKEA Group is one of the major sponsors of environmental protection projects and anti-child labor exploitation in developing countries.
Tip 10: Tailored Services
Although IKEA does not focus on delivery and installation services for customers, it pays special attention to other services for customers at the place of purchase. If customers do not have a car, IKEA is willing to rent one. If customers' cars are too small, IKEA has a big car to carry them. People with small children can still feel secure when shopping because IKEA also has a free babysitting service at the store.
According to TBKTSG
