ikea
At only 17, one young man from Sweden made a decision that would define the rest of his life. He started a small business in his home where he initially started selling pens, wallets, picture frames and other little products and he also sold by mail order. The business was founded in 1943 and today, it is the world’s largest furniture manufacturer having 278 stores in 36 countries.
The young man I’m talking about is Ingvar Kamprand the founder of IKEA which is an acronym. I and K stand for the initials of his name while E and A mean Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd which are the names of the farm he grew up in and the country he was born in which is South of Sweden respectively. The stores are very popular in Europe, Asia, United States, Canada and Australia. They have also established stores in Israel and other countries in the Middle East and going into this markets is a huge achievement. Today, they retail household items like flat pack furniture, bathrooms and kitchen products and accessories.
The first IKEA store to be opened outside of Sweden was in Norway in 1963 and another store followed in Denmark in 1969. In the 70s many stores emerged in Europe and a momentum had started. It is however vital to note that this company is a total stranger to developing countries and they have not expressed their desire to venture into continents like Africa and South America. Their motto is really simple and it is ‘to create a better everyday life for the many people’ they have certainly made life for people better by providing not only quality but, affordable products.
The layouts of their stores is quite contemporary and it is a large showroom where a customer can view everything there is to see. The stores have a theme color and they are usually very large blue buildings. After the customer has viewed the products they are led to a warehouse that is just nearby where with their trolley, they pick up the product that was of interest to them then, they take it to the cashier to make payments.
IKEA stores, especially the new ones are never dull. They have more glass and natural light that improves the mood and the general impression of the self service store warehouses. The stores provide for negotiations on discounts and there is also a policy of no returns. Therefore, goods once sold cannot be returned. In many ikea stores that you visit in the world, you will notice that they are located outside city centers and this is deliberate. This is because of the traffic access and the land cost. City centers present a huge challenge for affordable space.
The major distinction with IKEA furniture and other products is that they are sold and assembled. This is the meaning of flat pack. The consumers therefore assemble for themselves and this cuts the cost considerably to the store. To sell themselves, they publish catalogs annually and produce a magazine which is translated in 13 languages. They also have a discount card which you can get and it is called the IKEA family card. Clearly this is a business that has risen above the rest and it will not stop.
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