Brand History: ikea. Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA story of creator and company
“How much would you pay for this?”
I. Kamprad
IKEA brand It is famous all over the world for its low prices and the legendary cost-effectiveness system, which is constantly being improved. Its corporate culture and market positioning is praised by many venerable marketers and branding experts. Everything that today is called IKEA is directly related to the life, aspirations and personal qualities of one person. This is Ingvar Kamprad.
Biography of Ingvar Kamprad.
He was born in a Swedish town called Elmhult and grew up in a now known world-wide place called Smoland. Residents of this particular part of Sweden are known as frugal, hardworking and at the same time creative people. This is due to living conditions and the history of the area.
There were businessmen in the Kampradov family before Ingvar, and even one tragic story related to unsuccessful entrepreneurship. Ingvar’s grandfather took his own life due to the fact that he could not pay off with huge loans taken for business needs.
Little Ingvar showed great interest in trading
from a very young age: from about five years old he began to sell matches, and at an older age he started to trade in various fields. So, the future founder of a world-famous company was selling seeds, fish, cowberries so popular and loved in Sweden, Christmas cards. In fairness, it is worth saying that this, in fact, is the whole formation of Ingvar Kamprad. He never studied business and marketing, did not read special literature and did not attend special classes on this topic, Ingvar has no higher education at all. Everything that he knows is based solely on rich experience, his own mistakes and a very, very attentive attitude to the world and people.
Foundation of IKEA.
In a difficult time for the whole world, in 1943, Ingvar founded his wonderful company in every respect - IKEA. The company was selling fountain pens. Wait a laugh, for the mid-twentieth century it was a truly innovative product. So, Russia at that time was writing with feathers, and the "self-writing pen" was a foreign curiosity, accessible not to everyone. Ingvar supplied pens from France, and organized his company only because the supplier declared such a need to continue full cooperation. Ingvar was only 17 years old, and he could not register the company because of his young age and due to lack of funds.
If we are talking about furniture, we can easily mention that which is used only by billionaires and kings with queens.
The young Swede, as expected, was helped by his father.
And in the future, always the theme of the family, the theme of the Motherland at Ingvar will permeate such a seemingly remote field from trade as possible.
Itself iKEA is an abbreviation for the first letters. Let's see what the young Swede included in the name of his brainchild? The first pair of letters is the name and surname of Kamprad, the third letter denotes the company of grandfather and father, and the last is the church parish where Ingvar prayed and confessed.
Sales of fountain pens grew, and after a couple of years Kamprad was able to advertise in local publications, which was very important for the further development of the business.
How did the IKEA business idea that we see now come about?
In the late forties, Ingvar's attention was drawn to the fact that in Sweden furniture was unusually expensive and therefore inaccessible to many segments of the population. And the adventurous Kamprad felt the beating of a golden key. He decided to fix things on the market of a small but proud country and turned IKEA into a furniture store. Initially, IKEA bought the cheapest chairs and tables. However, every thing Ingvard gave his name, which in those days was an innovative solution. This simple marketing move allowed the company to rebuild from competitors in a short time. In addition, word of mouth is the best advertisement, and news of a fabulously cheap furniture store quickly spread throughout the city.
The high sales volume very quickly allowed Ingvar to acquire his own furniture factory.
Already in 1951, the Swedish IKEA factory began to produce sensationally cheap furniture. In a country where furniture was almost a luxury item, such a strategic move was similar to the effect of an exploding bomb. It became almost impossible to compete honestly with the enlarged company IKEA, and the furniture sales association began to put pressure on local suppliers who worked with IKEA. Using power, persuasion and bribery, they managed to force them to boycott such a brash and successful company. In the course of the story, I note that today IKEA does not fundamentally give bribes and declares this publicly.
Let IKEA be one of the largest in the world, but still not
So, such a tough boycott for an ordinary person would be a heavy blow, which he might not be able to recover from. But that was not Kamprad. For him, in spite of all the machinations of enemies, this was only an occasion to search for new opportunities and further development. Ingvar is now purchasing the lion's share of furniture parts in Poland. This allows you to further reduce costs, despite the fact that transportation is also required.
Refusal of delivery and simplification of furniture assembly is a new breakthrough in the company.
The next move of IKEA, aimed at reducing costs and lowering the final price of the product was the refusal to deliver furniture. Now this was done exclusively by the buyers themselves. At the same time, the assembly of IKEA furniture is amazingly simple. Igvar paid a lot of attention to this design feature when designing furniture. Even a completely ignorant person can easily assemble an IKEA chair or table, armed only with simple tools like a screwdriver, detailed instructions and a burning desire to save.
IKEA catalog cover for 2011.
All these events led to the fact that 4 years after the start of the Kamprad furniture store, a printed catalog was published with images of IKEA products and prices set for goods. Then, like today, he just scattered in the mailboxes.
Only then - Sweden, and today - the whole world.
The law, which Ingvar Kamprad established once and for all, states: it is impossible to sell things all year above the price specified in the catalog. Cheaper - you can. More expensive - no, no.
In 1952, Ingvar Kamprad first presented furniture to the general public at surprisingly low prices at the annual Stockholm fair, and this shocked Sweden. Then Kamprad traveled to America, where he saw Cash & Carry stores, traditionally located in the suburbs for the USA. And Kamprad said: “There is an idea!” It was then that in his mind the company that we know now arose. He correctly reasoned that the future of world transport is for personal cars; for the most part, people will be able to get to the nearby suburbs in order to purchase inexpensive and relatively high-quality furniture. Shops are organized as huge warehouses where products can be partially picked up by yourself, without involving store staff or using it to a minimum. Thus, first in Stockholm, then in the small homeland of Ingvar, and subsequently around the world, stores with yellow-blue signs were opened - IKEA.
Relation to the buyer.
Despite the cheapness of goods in Kamprad stores, it cannot be said that it is ugly, uncomfortable or do not care about customers. Yes, they don’t serve sparkling wine in tall glasses, but there is a place where you can leave your child, where you can have a bite to eat, not too tasty, I must say, but satisfying and inexpensive. There is delivery, assembly. In a word, any whim for your money. But nothing is imposed. And even (in what other store is this possible?) A huge poster hangs, they say, if you change your mind, there is no problem!
We will take our goods back!
I must say that Ingvar himself was known as one of the meanest people in the world. Still would! Being a billionaire, he surprised the world community by traveling by public transport, had the simplest house, and, traveling abroad, lived in three-star hotels and ate in inexpensive cafes. Note that the person who seeks to help nature and people simply does not deserve accusations of stinginess. One of his main qualities that influenced the business, he calls attentiveness and observation. Tell me, how can you be attentive to the middle class, staying in a penthouse and having lunch in those places where one dish stands, like the machine of an entrepreneur of an average hand? That's right, nothing. Therefore, spiteful, hands off Ingvar Kamprad!
Ingvar Kamprad - our days.
The creator of IKEA is Ingvard Kampard.
Yes, at seventy he visits up to twenty stores a day to study the problem of matching the quality of the product with the price at which it is laid out. His favorite question for the customers is: “How much would you pay for this?” Yes, Ingvar still adores public speaking with pulling garbage out of the basket and saying that this item could be put into action! And at the same time, he is not an old man who has survived from his mind, but a genius who has found his niche and is skillfully changing the world for the better.
The result is obvious - prices in IKEA are 20-30% lower than competitors.
A simple white pass-through rack has been successfully sold in all countries for twenty years - a fact!
Currently, the company is led by the sons of Ingvar, and his business is lively, as you can see by simply periodically looking in the mailbox. But not do we go to IKEA on the weekend?
Anyone who has been to IKEA knows that you can get free writing instruments and give batteries there. But there are pens that are not just handed out in stores, but are sold at very reputable auctions.
Video: Mega-plants - IKEA
ikea company structure ( http://www.ikea.com)
The founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, created such an organization and ownership structure of the company that guarantees its integrity and independence.
The IKEA group of companies is owned by the Stichting INGKA (INGKA Stitching) fund, registered in the Netherlands.
The Fund owns the company INGKA Holding B. V. (INGKA Holding B. V.), which is the founder of all divisions of the IKEA group, starting with the Swedwood Production Group and ending with the companies that own IKEA stores in different countries.
Inter IKEA Systems B. V. owns the concept and brand of IKEA. All stores that are part of the IKEA group of companies use this concept and trademark on the basis of franchise agreements. IKEA Group is the largest franchisor in Inter IKEA Systems B. V.
Ingka Holding B.V. Board of Directors: Hans-Goran Stennert (Chairman), Bruno Winborg, Jan Karlsson, Goran Lindahl, Karl Wilhelm Ros, Peter Kamprad, Ingvar Kamprad (Principal Advisor).
Management of the IKEA group of companies: Anders Dalvig (President), Hans Guidel (Vice President), Josephine Rudberg-Dumont, Michael Ulsson, Thomas Blomkvist, Pernilla Spiers-Lopez, Lars Geyrot.
The total number of employees of the IKEA group of companies is 90,000. IKEA operates in 44 countries.
IKEA in Russia
IKEA has long had partnerships with Russian manufacturers. In 1990, Nikolai Ryzhkov, the Prime Minister of the USSR, paid an official visit to Sweden. It was he who suggested that company representatives buy products from Russian furniture makers. Today, more than 50 Russian factories are cooperating with IKEA. IKEA orders are placed throughout Russia. There are enterprises where IKEA orders account for the majority of the products manufactured.
The idea of \u200b\u200bopening an IKEA store in Russia arose in the company back in 1992. But it took several years to bring it to life. March 22, 2000 the doors of the IKEA store in Khimki near Moscow were first opened to customers. A store opened in Teply Stan on December 12, 2001, IKEA Dybenko in the Leningrad Region on December 12, 2003, and IKEA in Kazan on March 22, 2004.
Shops in Khimki, Teply Stan, Dybenko and Kazan - this is only the beginning. IKEA plans to create three more shopping centers in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg. And next to the stores, the company is building large commercial centers selling products, clothes, sports goods and much more.
March 22, 2005 ended the first five-year IKEA in Russia. The main achievements of the company in Russia:
* March 22, 2000. The triumphant opening of the first IKEA store in Russia, on the first day of its work, 37,509 people visited it. * December 12, 2001. Met its first visitors to the IKEA store in Teply Stan. IKEA broke its own record: 45,109 people visited the store on the opening day.
* December 12, 2002. A family shopping and entertainment center MEGA Teply Stan with an area of \u200b\u200b200,000 square meters was commissioned. meters - one of the largest in Europe. In 2004, 43 million visitors visited it. * December 12, 2003. IKEA complex in St. Petersburg opened its doors. * March 22, 2004. IKEA store Kazan is opened - the first regional IKEA store in Russia.
* December 2004. The MEGA family shopping and entertainment center in Khimki has begun operating with an area of \u200b\u200b230,000 square meters. meters.
During this time, IKEA invested about 1 billion US dollars in the Russian economy (shops, shopping centers, own production facilities, investments in suppliers, distribution centers, etc.). All this enormous work was done to make IKEA goods accessible to every citizen of Russia . Over the five-year period, IKEA stores were visited by 32,133,600 people.
* September 2005. The opening of a new megamall together with the Belaya Dacha agricultural company on the 14th km of the Moscow Ring Road. This giant has an area of \u200b\u200b240,000 square meters. meters will accept IKEA investments of $ 400 million.
* December 2005. The third MEGA shopping center in Kazan, near the IKEA Kazan store, began its work.
The company plans to open 13 new IKEA stores throughout Russia: Ufa, Perm, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Voronezh, Volgograd, Saratov, Omsk. In addition, IKEA plans to open the 2nd IKEA store in St. Petersburg and the IKEA store in the very center of Moscow.
Such a wide distribution of IKEA stores in Russia indicates the competent policy of the company's managers.
Reasons for company success
Range
Development of the IKEA assortment is carried out by IoS employees (Assortment Development Division, Elmhult, Sweden). The assortment has about 9,500 items. The basic principle of the work of designers, producers and purchasers is a low-price orientation, which makes comfortable and practical furniture affordable for everyone.
New products that are developed by IKEA designers and freelance designers are considered in terms of functionality, transportation efficiency, quality, environmental friendliness and low price at the sketch stage. It is in IoS (Assortment Development Division) that products receive their unique names, such as BILLI or KLIPPAN.
All IKEA products receive their names in accordance with a strictly defined system: fabrics and curtains are called women's names, carpets receive the names of Danish settlements, armchairs and sofas - the names of Swedish settlements.
Production
The Swedenwood production group as part of IKEA is engaged in the production of wooden furniture and components. Swedwood has 35 plants in 9 countries.
In total, IKEA has 46 purchasing offices in 32 countries. The employees of each of them control the production process of IKEA goods at the factories of our suppliers. This gives them the opportunity to test new ideas in practice, negotiate lower prices for the delivered goods, keep their quality under control, as well as monitor the social and living conditions of the suppliers' factories.
About 1300 suppliers work in 53 countries. Proximity to suppliers is the key to profitable long-term cooperation.
Distribution
The path that goods travel from the supplier factory to the buyer should be as short as possible, economical and environmentally friendly. Efficient distribution of goods guarantees their low price. Flat packaging is an important aspect of work in this direction. 28 distribution centers in 16 countries are responsible for the supply of goods to IKEA stores.
Retail
The stores have all the goods for home: sofas, beds, tables, chairs, textiles, kitchen utensils, carpets, kitchens, bathroom furniture, lamps and plants. Demonstrating our assortment in interiors, we offer our customers interesting design ideas and new solutions. Over the past fiscal year, 410 million people visited IKEA stores around the world.
The catalog is the main marketing tool of IKEA. In fiscal 2005, the IKEA catalog was published with a circulation of 160 million copies in 52 publications in 25 languages.
More and more people are using the Internet as a source of information. Last year, IKEA website was visited by 125 million people from all over the world.
The percentage of sales over the Internet is still very small compared with the overall level of sales of IKEA, however, it is growing steadily.
Turnover of the IKEA Group of Companies
The turnover of the 2004 financial year (September 1, 2004 - August 31, 2005) amounted to 14.8 billion euros (135 billion Swedish kronor).
commodity circulation by region
volume of purchases by region
IKEA Group has 90,000 employees in 44 countries
distribution of employees by field of activity
In 33 countries, a total of 227 IKEA stores are operating. IKEA Group has 203 stores in 24 countries as of November 2005.
In addition, in 24 countries there are 24 stores operated by private franchisors: Australia (1), United Arab Emirates (2), Greece (2), Hong Kong (4), Iceland (1), Israel (1), Kuwait ( 1), Malaysia (1), Netherlands (1), Saudi Arabia (2), Singapore (1), Spain (3), Taiwan (2), Turkey (1), USA (1).
IKEA pricing policy
Low price is the result of a methodical and systematic approach that is applied at any stage of its activity, from the designer's idea through product development, production, distribution and retail, right to the buyer's home.
Coordination of IKEA Group of Companies
The coordination of the IKEA group of companies is carried out by nine divisions located in the Netherlands (IKEA Services B. V.) and in Sweden (IKEA Services AB).
experts and economies of scale
Decentralization is one of the fundamental principles of IKEA. However, in order to be able to fully benefit from the so-called economies of scale (savings due to the growth of the company's activities, which is manifested in lower production costs per unit of production), IKEA employs a group of experts who centrally manage certain areas - from menus in restaurants to the production of IKEA catalogs. This is one way to keep prices low.
IKEA catalog - free edition with the largest circulation in the world
The IKEA catalog, with a circulation of 145 million copies, is the largest commercial publication in the world. This is a source of inspiration for readers, in which you can find the whole variety of assortment of convenient and functional IKEA products intended for home improvement. Every year in August, starting in 1951, when the first IKEA catalog was published, millions of people (now in 33 countries of the world) find in their mailbox a copy of the latest issue of the catalog. Along with shops, the catalog is the most important means of communication with customers.
Today, the catalog, with more than 300 pages, shows all the variety of the assortment and offers solutions for a variety of life situations, but, first of all, it gives advice and prompts inspirational ideas for home improvement and interior decoration.
The catalog occupies a special position in the IKEA arsenal as the most effective marketing tool. He faces the most difficult task - to be an information tool, a source of new ideas, work to strengthen the IKEA brand and maintain the unique reputation of IKEA as a specialist in the field of home interiors.
The largest commercial publication in the world is being developed in a tiny town in southern Sweden. The IKEA catalog is produced by the IKEA Communications Division in Elmhult. Here is the largest photo studio in northern Europe measuring 8,000 square meters. The work goes on simultaneously in 96 different interiors. It is here that photographs and texts are made for 48 different versions of the catalog in 25 languages \u200b\u200bof the world.
The IKEA catalog is the result of the joint efforts of many high-class specialists who have been working on its publication for several months. Photographers, authors of texts, art directors, project managers, decorators, stylists and representatives of other professions together create a catalog, which is distributed annually in late August in the areas surrounding IKEA stores. In Europe alone, the catalog comes to the homes of 200 million people. In many regions, the main catalog is supplemented by special editions of kitchen and office furniture. The catalog is printed on paper made from recycled materials without the use of chemical bleaching agents.
Getting to know the catalog is the best way to prepare for your trip to the IKEA store. If you flip through the catalog at home without fuss and rush, make all the necessary measurements and prepare a shopping list, then in the store you just have to pick up and pay for the goods. The prices indicated in the catalog remain unchanged throughout its validity period (this may be a year or six months, depending on the country of distribution). In Russia, prices in the catalog are fixed for a year - this innovation has been operating since 2004.
No waste when developing IKEA products
Pieces of fabric left after cutting FAMNIG, heart-shaped pillows, are used to make small FAMNIG pillows. The company orders worktops at a factory manufacturing doors. And due to the fact that dyes of only light colors are used in the production of BANG mugs, not only the cost of the product is reduced, but also the negative impact on the environment. At IKEA, the product development process is largely determined by production and technological capabilities.
Caring for cost reduction is a prerequisite at any stage, starting with a sketch of the future product. In many cases, the price of a product is determined at the very beginning of its development. Designers and developers of the assortment often work on a new product together with the manufacturer. It is there that it becomes clear how best to use the existing experience of the supplier and its production potential. IKEA has the opportunity to buy good raw materials at competitive prices, winning at the expense of large volumes. However, its full potential can be used only by working in close contact with manufacturers.
Large volumes provide high turnover
Large volumes are an important factor in maintaining low prices. When IKEA lowers its prices, more people get the opportunity to purchase its goods.
IKEA does not carry air
Large volumes combined with flat packaging help IKEA economically transport goods from suppliers through stores to customers. Flat packaging means that we do not have to pay for transportation and storage of air, and this not only reduces the cost of storage and distribution, but also reduces the harmful effects on the environment. Currently, 20% of all IKEA goods are transported by rail.
Location of shops
One of the components of the IKEA concept is the location of stores outside urban centers - in places where land is cheaper. IKEA buyers also help us keep prices low. Guided by the information on the price tag, they independently pick up the goods from the shelves of the Self-Service Warehouse, independently take the purchases home and collect them using the attached instructions.
"Furniture for life"
IKEA is the world's largest manufacturer of furniture and household items. The company owns more than 251 stores worldwide. The story of IKEA began in 1943 when the young entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad opened the first store in the small town of Elmhult in Sweden. The name IKEA is an acronym consisting of the initials of the founder and the first letters of the names of the farm where he grew up, and the nearby village: "Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd". The word turned out to be either by chance or intentionally in tune with the Greek oikia ("house") and Finnish oikea ("right", "true"). IKEA is the only retail chain that defines the lifestyle of people regardless of their culture, wealth or religion.
Kamprad founded IKEA at the age of 17 with money donated by his father for successful studies. At one time, Ingvar's grandfather was unable to repay the loan for the farm and shot himself. Misfortune left a deep mark in the boy’s soul. Since then, he sought to earn by all means available. At five, he bought matches in Stockholm and drove them around the village on a bicycle. As a teenager - he sold everything that was in demand; fish, pens, Christmas cards, seeds, wallets, photo frames, watches, jewelry, nylon tights. At first, he conducted business from a shed on his parent's farm, later he began to mail orders by delivering them to the railway station in the milkman's van. Then Ingvar entered the pro-Nazi New Swedish. When the story opened in 1994, Kamprad did not hide behind the PR machine, but publicly apologized to IKEA employees of Jewish origin, calling his act “the biggest mistake in life” in the book “The IKEA Saga”.
At 21, Kamprad sold furniture and all sorts of things in the first IKEA store in the town of Elmhult in southern Sweden. In 1951, the first product catalog was published (until 1963, Kamprad personally wrote the texts), and since 1953 furniture became the main product. The competition forced him to exhibit furniture in the store so that customers could see, touch and evaluate its quality. In 1955, Ingvar began to design furniture. In this direction, Sweden has been a recognized leader in the world. His success was frightened by local manufacturers, and they "convinced" Kamprad suppliers to stop working with him, Ingvar switched to Poland. Polish companies could supply inexpensive components in a flat package for assembling finished furniture on site. So IKEA was born, as it is known today.
The work of Swedish designers of the 1950-1960s is a modern secular utilitarian style, usually expensive. Kamprad destroyed the myth of the high cost of the Scandinavian style and brought it to the mass market at affordable prices for young people who equip their first home. Thanks to Kamprad, the purchase of furniture has become more affordable. And now, according to statistics, every tenth European was conceived in IKEA bed.
Today, IKEA's annual turnover exceeds $ 15 billion; the company employs 104 thousand people. The entire structure is controlled by a Dutch private holding owned by the Kamprad family. A fund with a capital of 36 billion dollars is a guarantee against a possible takeover of the company. According to Economist magazine, it is the richest charitable organization in the world. The company’s structure is flat, like its furniture boxes: titles and privileges are forbidden, no one wears costumes, top managers fly in economy class, and during the “anti-bureaucratic weeks” the top management of the company unloads trucks and sits at the checkout. IKEA was twice included in the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers", and in 2006 the company took 96th place in the Fortune magazine's ranking of "100 Best Employers".
IKEA is a Swedish manufacturing and trading group of companies, one of the largest retailers in the world selling home goods and furniture. The company's turnover for 2016 exceeded 36 billion euros. The company has long been one of the “Best World Brands” (the average position in the ranking is 26th place), and in the latest ranking of “The World’s Most Expensive Brands,” IKEA ranked 55th with a brand value of $ 18.08 billion.
The founder of IKEA is the Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad. He was born into a family of farmers, and spent all his childhood working in agriculture. Members of the Kamprad family tried to run a business before him, but he did not bring any special dividends. But, thanks to this, since childhood, Ingvar has been well-versed in trade. In his youth, he tried to trade matches and fish.
In 1943, having invested all his savings and borrowed money from his father, the seventeen-year-old Kamprad opens the IKEA store, whose name is an abbreviation composed of the initial letters of his name and surname and the names of the farm and village where he was born and raised. The choice in the store’s specialization was influenced by the situation in the country. Finding good and inexpensive household items, basic necessities and furniture was almost impossible.
IKEA Logo History, Image: ikea.com
Ingvar Kamprad began his activity by selling small household items., and the first basic model of the company was the mailing list.
One of the first promotions of the company almost fell to the brink of failure. Young Kamprad decided to take a small loan and order ballpoint pens in France, which were in short supply in Sweden at that time. For a quick sale of goods, he promised everyone who came to the presentation a coffee and a bun. This proposal attracted more than a thousand people, which significantly exceeded the plans of a young businessman. Having worked hard and invested a lot of energy, he fulfilled the promise. The presentation was successful and the product quickly sold out.
Video: the amazing story of the founder of IKEA.
Company development stages
First steps
Until 1948, the IKEA store was focused on the sale of small household items. During this period, Kamprad was thinking about expanding his business. To expand the assortment, he decided to choose furniture that always has stable demand. And at that time, inexpensive furniture was generally considered a scarce commodity. The expansion of the company began with an increase in staff. Prior to this period, only Kamprad himself worked in the store. In 1948, he hired the first employee. By 1950, the company already had 4 employees.
At first, the company focused on cheap furniture., which was done in small industries. Later, the approach was changed: it was decided to purchase parts and assemble furniture on their own. Thus, it was possible to significantly reduce prices and gain popularity with customers.
In 1958, the first IKEA brand store was opened in Elmhult. Here for the first time in Sweden it was possible to try out furniture before buying. Such a marketing move has significantly increased the popularity of the store.
Due to difficulties with suppliers, which competitors forbade to do business with IKEA, in the late 50s I. Kamprad faced a shortage of goods for sale. To solve the problem, he decided to purchase goods abroad. He found all the necessary goods at factories in Poland and arranged timely deliveries to Sweden.
By the beginning of the 60s, several IKEA stores were already operating in Sweden, and Ingvar Kamprad began to think about entering foreign markets. It was decided to start from Norway and in 1963 a store was opened in Oslo. And by the end of the 1960s, the first IKEA store opened in Denmark.
At the same time, dishes were added to the grocery line of stores. Also, to reduce the queues, work was done to optimize the number and location of cash desks.
In 1973, to optimize taxation, the company's center was moved to Denmark.
The beginning of active expansion
Photo: pixabay In the 70s, the company began an active expansion of Western Europe: stores were opened in Switzerland, Germany, and France. At the end of the seventies, the world was presented the work of Ingvar Kamprad "Commandments of the furniture dealer", which has become a must-read book for all employees of the company.
The first IKEA stores opened in the early 1980s in Saudi Arabia, China and Kuwait.
And in 1985, the brand entered the US market. The first store was opened in Philadelphia. Ingvar Kamprad had doubts about the American market, but thanks to the then popular hippie cult, the democratic and original IKEA stores quickly became popular.
In parallel with the conquest of new markets, the company expanded its product line. In the 1980s, IKEA introduced its first sofa.
In 1986, Ingvar Kamprad resigned as head of the company and became a consultant to the managing fund of the Stiching INGKA Foundation. Anders Muberg, who worked as Kamprad's deputy, became the CEO.
In the early 1990s, the expansion of Eastern and Southern Europe began. The first stores were opened in Hungary and Poland, a little later the company came to Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In 1996, brand stores opened in Spain. Also during this period, a set of rules was established that regulates work in the company.
Work over the Internet
The IKEA store was one of the first major retailers to launch online. The company’s website, which talks about its philosophy, was launched in 1997.
In 1999, the company's sales amounted to € 6 billion. 20% of the volume was provided by stores in the USA and Asia. In this regard, it was decided to intensify work in these markets.
Since the early 2000s, IKEA has been actively developing Asian stores and online trading. The first store in Japan was opened in 2006 and the chain began to develop rapidly using standard technology. The Chinese market, which has high hopes, did not submit immediately. The first stores opened in the early 2000s were damaging. Only after changing the concept for this market, the Chinese chain of stores began to develop. Today it has about 10 stores.
Video: see with your own eyes how production is organized at IKEA.
IKEA in Russia
The first attempts by IKEA to enter the Russian market date back to the late 1980s. Ingvar Kamprad personally negotiated and planned to create a whole furniture production complex in the USSR. But the final agreement was never reached.
The company returned to the Russian direction in the late 1990s, and in early 2000, the first store was opened in Khimki. Investments in the project amounted to about $ 200 million. On the first day, about 30,000 people visited the hypermarket. The opening of the second store attracted more than 50,000 visitors.
By 2008, there were 11 brand stores in Russia, and in 2017 there were already 14.
In September 2016, IKEA launched the largest furniture factory in Russia. The volume of investments in this project is estimated at € 50 million.
Main competitors
Globally, the Swedish retailer has virtually no competitors. In certain regions and areas IKEA competes JYSK, Metro Group, Leroy Merlin and Hoff.A direct competitor can be considered only JYSK, operating in the same segment as IKEA. Metro Group, Leroy Merlin and Hoff have a wider product range than the Swedish retailer, so they partially compete with it.
IKEA today
Today, IKEA is formally a Dutch company. Change of country of registration was made in 2012 to optimize taxation.
In 2016, the company's revenue amounted to 36.4 billion euros. Today, the company operates 389 stores around the world, which are visited by more than 900 million visitors per year. IKEA employs 183,000 people.
The company's priority area of \u200b\u200bdevelopment is online sales. IKEA is developing a modern technology platform that should stimulate sales growth in this segment.
Significant hopes also rely on the Chinese market, which until today has not been fully developed and has significant growth potential.
It is believed that in the apartment of every Western European family there is at least one thing with the IKEA logo. This is not necessarily furniture. Any accessory, toy, underwear - anything from IKEA. Even if you yourself basically didn’t buy anything in the network store, something was inherited from relatives or got into the apartment as a gift.
At one time, the spread of IKEA in Europe was called the epidemic. Since the opening of the first stores in Russia, the IKEA epidemic has taken over our country. IKEA is loved for its democratic originality (the company's finds in the field of design are recognized as outstanding by all the design schools of the world) and are despised for its massiveness, universality (wherever you look everywhere the same floor lamps and sofas). Global brand in all its contradictions. The founder, 80-year-old Ingvard Kamprad, created it from the age of 20. IKEA began with sales of coffee tables, and now it is the largest furniture company in the world ..
History of IKEA
Ingvar Kamprad was born in the small Swedish town of Elmhult (now it is a real tourist Mecca: thousands of people come there to see the billionaire’s homeland; the first Kamprad store is also located there) in 1926. Kamprad biographers believe that Ingvar inherited the passion for trade. In 1897, the company, owned by the grandfather of the future billionaire, was on the verge of bankruptcy. The head of the family could not pay the mortgage and committed suicide. But Ingvar's grandmother manages to save the matter.
Kamprad himself began to earn from the sale of matches. Here is how he recalls his childhood activity: “My aunt helped me buy the first hundred boxes of matches at the so-called 88 era sale (something like our“ Everything for 10 ”- ed.), And my aunt didn’t charged me for the postage. After that, I sold matches for a price of two or three era for boxes, and some even for 5 era. I still remember the pleasant sensation I experienced when I received my first profit. At that time I was no more than five years old. Later, I started selling Christmas cards and wall pictures. I caught fish, and then rode my bike and sold it around. I collected lingonberries and sent it to the buyer in another city by bus. At eleven my main business was selling seeds. "This was my first big deal, and I made enough money to change my mother’s old bike to a new racing model." But fountain pens were in greatest demand: in the early forties they were a novelty even in Sweden. Kamprad wrote out 500 of these pens from Paris, taking a loan of 500 kroons for purchase at a district bank (at that time $ 63). According to Kamprad, this was the first and last loan he took in his life. Fashionable goods were supplied by one French company. She then demanded that their distributor register their own company. Kamprad persuaded his father to assist him in paperwork, and soon IKEA came into being (“Ingvard Kamprad, Elmtarude in Agunarud” - the first letters of the name and surname, the name of his father’s farm and church parish, where the head of the future corporation grew up). This happened in 1943. At that time, its creator was 17 years old. At this time, Kamprad already got off his bicycle and switched to distribution of goods by mail. And to the pens and matches he added the most uncomplicated trifle, such as office supplies, wallets, nylon stockings and mosquito repellents.
The first entrepreneurial steps of IKEA founder Ingvard Kamprad, his early, as he calls it, “craving for profit” is, apparently, one of the most important subjective conditions for success. The desire to make money at the genetic level. The Swedish billionaire never studied at the university (teachers couldn’t teach him how to read for a long time at school), but the business strategy that he applied at IKEA is studied in many higher educational institutions in Europe.
Finally, in 1948, Camprad came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bswitching to furniture. Kamprad negotiates with small furniture manufacturers and begins to sell two models - a chair without armrests and a coffee table. Kamprad called the chair “Ruth” (he always believed that it was difficult to remember the name of inventory items). Since then, IKEA decided to give furniture names. At the same time, several more Kamprad business principles arose. Firstly, he began to send his customers a small brochure called “IKEA News” - it became the prototype of the company's famous catalog. Secondly, the young entrepreneur immediately began to focus on middle-income buyers. Therefore, he orders the most inexpensive models at neighboring furniture factories. Even then, he came to his famous formula: "How to sell 60 chairs at a high price, it is better to lower the price and sell 600 chairs."
In 1951, Kamprad acquired an old factory, where he began to produce cheap simple furniture. Gradually, his company, thanks to affordable prices, gained fame in Sweden. However, this trade policy led to the boycott that the Swedish National Furniture Sellers Association declared Kamprad in the late 1950s, outraged by the low prices of IKEA products. Under pressure from the association, leading loggers began to refuse to cooperate with Kamprad. As a result, the entrepreneur had to take an unusual step for the Swedish business at that time: he began to purchase part of the components necessary for assembling furniture “cheaply” from Polish suppliers. So the founder of IKEA laid the future strategy of the company - to place orders for goods in those countries where it costs less.
In the early 60s, Kamprad made an educational trip to America. There he first saw stores selling Cash & Carry. He liked the very scheme of trade: huge stores are located outside the city, and customers serve themselves - they put the goods in a cart and take them to their car.
When IKEA opened a large store near Stockholm in 1963, a lot was arranged there taking into account the American experience, though creatively reworked. Firstly, it was a suburb: land prices there are much lower, and there is a place to park a car. Secondly, in order to reduce transportation costs, the company ordered collapsible furniture, where each piece was placed in a flat package. So it was easier and cheaper to transport them. The furniture was to be assembled by the buyers themselves. Kamprad has long noticed that people actually like to assemble cabinets and sofas on their own. Especially if you make the assembly procedure simple thanks to the detailed instructions.
In 1969, the company opened a store in Denmark and built a distribution center in Elmhult. The final step in terms of common sense is not certain. Where there are so many buyers in the outback? But Ingvar knew that a car boom had begun in Sweden. And I realized that for serious purchases people are ready to go at least to distant lands. To encourage customers at the IKEA store, car roof racks began to be sold. Of course, at a bargain price. Thanks to this policy, the company's turnover in one year doubled. The store itself, called Kungens Kurva, in appearance resembled the New York Guggenheim Museum, which Kamprad really liked. During the grand opening of the store, a huge scandal almost broke out. No one expected so many people to come on the first day. Thirty thousand Swedes certainly wanted to buy a decor at low prices. The store, although so large, did not find so much product. And the crowd, sweeping away everything in its path, was somewhat contrary to the principle advocated by IKEA. Here, an unhurried discussion was taken about which whatnot would fit in a soft chair, under a cup of delicious coffee.
Kamprad made the only right decision in this situation - to launch buyers to the warehouse. So IKEA accidentally came to its "crown" formula: store-warehouse. It was with Kungens Kurva that the work style of the company was determined completely and forever. Now, each IKEA furniture store is a kind of exhibition center. Where not only sofas and cabinets are shown, but also any little things in life: tablecloths, curtains, bedspreads, towels and candlesticks. Moreover, all this is placed as it should be in real life. Thus, a store visitor can first examine ten children’s rooms in a row, and then twenty-five dining rooms or living rooms and so on. Having figured out how this or that model looks in the real interior, and choosing the right one, the buyer should go after her to the warehouse. In convenient packaging, he transports a furniture unit to his home and collects it there himself, reading understandable and sensible instructions.
After such a success, there was nothing left for IKEA in their homeland how to develop foreign sales markets. Decisions were made spontaneously. For example, the head of the company hesitated for a long time: should I open a store in Switzerland? The country was known for its conservative tastes, in addition, two local chains of furniture stores developed well there. But once Kamprad, walking along Zurich, overheard the conversation of one young couple. “Beautiful chair!” Said the young woman, looking at the window. “But for us it is not yet affordable. Let's buy it next year, ”her husband replied. This episode decided the whole thing. And soon IKEA appeared in Switzerland (in 1973). And then in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, the USA. In fact, besides Africa and Asia, now IKEA is present everywhere, including in China. But most of the sales to her are provided by the European market.
In 1976, the development of the New World began - the IKEA store appeared in Canada. In 1981, the company opened its first store in Paris. There are 10 IKEA stores in France now, and it is ahead of Sweden in terms of sales. True, cheap Swedish furniture in France has a specific reputation. The French apologize to the guests: “We bought furniture at IKEA - we are now tight with money.”
Since the beginning of the 90s, the company has been active in Eastern Europe. The Swedes came to Russia at the invitation of Nikolai Ryzhkov. While in Sweden on an official visit in 1990, the then Prime Minister of the USSR expressed the wish that IKEA purchase products from Russian furniture makers. Representatives of the company visited the then Soviet country and decided that the idea was quite sound. Today, the company works with approximately 30 Russian factories scattered throughout the country.
IKEA Business Principles
The IKEA business concept took almost ten years, from the late fifties to the late sixties of the last century. All this time, the founder of the company, Ingvar Kamprad, turned the difficulties that arose at IKEA into its advantages. For example, we were the first to place our orders abroad. What for? It so happened that in the sixties all Swedish furniture manufacturers declared a boycott to Kamprad. He was literally hated for selling sofas and armchairs at the lowest prices in the country. To get out of this situation, I had to produce furniture in Poland. It turned out that it is much cheaper and more effective than doing the same in Sweden. Prices at IKEA are even lower.
There were delivery difficulties. Traditionally, furniture was assembled right at the factories, and while it was being taken to the buyer, it often broke: legs fell off, glass doors broke, the surface was scratched. In order not to lose money on this, Kamprad decided to sell disassembled furniture. This again led to savings and further reduced prices. Another example. In Europe, in the middle of the last century, furniture was sold only in small store-salons. But because of the cheapness, too many people began to come to us, and we could not cope. I had to build a large store outside the city. There we could serve more customers and save on land leases. As soon as the first large country store opened, it turned out that it was very profitable. (Anders Dalvig, IKEA CEO). The Swedish company offered the buyer a holistic concept of home improvement (furniture and all kinds of accessories plus design tips), and this idea turned out to be brilliant.
In addition, in large country shops, along with furniture, everything that is needed to create a full-fledged interior is sold: flowers in pots, photo frames, dishes, candles, chandeliers, curtains, bedding and children's toys. When the British authorities recommended IKEA to open small “themed” stores in the city, instead of building giant suburban hangars, an indignant response was heard: “This will never happen! “Everything under one roof” is our sacred concept. ”
All IKEA stores outside Sweden are painted blue and yellow to emphasize the Swedish character of the company. The style of goods also speaks of nationality - the assortment is the same everywhere. Near the cash registers in all the company's stores there are departments of a non-core area for IKEA: they sell Swedish national food there.
Inattention to the characteristics, habits and tastes of the local consumer sometimes leads to funny things. In the first IKEA store in the United States, opened in 1976, demand for medium-sized vases exceeded supplies. It turned out that the Americans bought them up because the mugs and glasses offered by IKEA were not large enough by American standards. Now IKEA has specialists who study the regional specifics, visiting consumers' homes. It turned out that Americans prefer to keep their clothes folded, and Italians - on hangers; the Spaniards, unlike the Scandinavians, adore decorating the home with pictures within, prefer bright colors in the interior, love large dining tables and wide sofas. “It's very easy to forget the reality that people live in,” says Mats Nilson, director of design.
In one study, Harvard Business School claims that IKEA is skillfully forcing, unobtrusively forcing customers to spend more time in its stores (accordingly, the amount left there is growing). This is also facilitated by the planning decision of the trading floors - to enter the complex is easy - to exit for a long time. IKEA turns ordinary shopping into a pleasant pastime. Children can be left on the playground, graceful expositions inspire and stimulate the buyer, wide passages exclude crush. You can rest and eat in cozy cafes offering various bonuses and unique Swedish meatballs. It is also important that sellers do not pounce on buyers like kites, so they can relax and look around. If necessary, finding a consultant in a bright yellow-blue uniform is easy. IKEA's “soft coercion” reaches its climax in the ability to anticipate consumer needs that it does not suspect. The main thing is to “untwist” a new fetish, and it will bring money. For example, the company released a medium-sized metal clothespin with a rubber ring - so that you could hang the magazine on a towel hook. It is not known how many buyers suffered while trying to read a magazine in the bathroom, but a modest clothespin quickly became a bestseller. Two factors worked: visibility (neatly hung clothespins with magazines in the exposition bathtub act magically, convincing them to make purchases), as well as price (clothespins are so cheap that they can be bought just “just in case”). Such products are unofficially called “hot dogs” at IKEA — they are cheaper than sausages in the cafeteria.
IKEA Pricing
According to Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA prices should be breathtaking. The company does not hesitate to declare that its prices are the prices of competitors divided by two. There is also a “second-tier tactic”: if a competitor launches cheaper similar products, IKEA immediately develops the next version of this product at a price “below nowhere.”
“It’s easy to create beautiful and expensive things, but try to create a beautiful functional thing that will be cheap,” Josephine Rydberg-Dumont speaks about the company's pricing philosophy. When developing another product, IKEA first sets a border above which price should not rise, and only then designers (over 90 of them) puzzle over how to fit into this framework. No product will be put into production unless there is a way to make it affordable. Product creation sometimes drags on for several years. For example, the creation of a dining table PS Ellan ($ 39.99) on flexible but stable legs took more than a year and a half during which it was possible to invent an inexpensive material (a mixture of rubber and wood sawdust) that allows to achieve the desired properties.
The international success of IKEA is also evident in the fact that the middle class in most countries of the world is more or less identical. If not in income, then in outlook on life and ideas about style. The backbone style of IKEA is functionality, simplicity, ingenuity and a declared personality. According to the company, the main idea propagated by this style is that the vast majority of people, in principle, have everything necessary for happiness - only they forget about it or do not pay attention. And in order to bring them to this simple conclusion, you need very little - offer to change the situation in the kitchen, install a convenient rack in the office or purchase some funny little thing that will enliven the living room interior. This is precisely what IKEA “HISTORICAL OPTIMISM” preached, which forms the basis of the company's marketing strategy.
IKEA personality
In particular, IKEA fundamentally refuses to divide things into beautiful and ugly. The style of the home can include very different, sometimes the most elementary, unpretentious and unexpected objects and materials - from great-grandmother's caskets to ultramodern lamps, and the degree of their aesthetics depends on a whole range of conditions that form the specific human environment. Therefore, the company's products are usually displayed in specific interiors: the reception is practically a win-win, since an object that is completely unprepossessing at first glance and absolutely unnecessary to the buyer often attracts his attention precisely due to the environment and forces himself to purchase.
The consumer reputation of IKEA, like any other global brand, is contradictory. For example, the company has long been deservedly accused of imposing standardization of the situation - there is no question of any personality that the company likes to talk about. Of course, this annoys many. The company, however, lacks self-irony to joke on this subject. Before opening a store in a new country, the company always does a little research. They ask if customers like their furniture. And they always get the same result - absolutely no one likes IKEA furniture. So it was in Italy, and in Germany, and in Russia, and in other countries. The company gets acquainted with these results and opens a store. As soon as it opens, a boom begins.
In general, IKEA recognizes that companies have room to move. The company argues as follows: a person buys furniture not only for himself, but also for neighbors. He chooses inexpensive and functional furniture from IKEA. Puts her in bedrooms, kitchens and children's rooms. There, where he spends most of his time, and where it is not customary to let outsiders. But in the living room, to cheat in front of the neighbors, mahogany headsets and leather sofas are bought. We won the kitchens and bedrooms, IKEA says, now our task is to conquer the living rooms of our customers.
Ingvar Kamprad
The phenomenal success of IKEA is inextricably linked with the personality of its founder. Some even claim that IKEA rests solely on Kamprad and the faithful “old guard,” the bearers of IKEA culture. And although his adult children take part in management, without the main "pastor" the company will lose its charm. It seems that Kamprad himself is aware of this, because he so carefully creates a cult of traditions, tying IKEA to the notorious roots. Kamprad has gone nineteen years old, officially he has long retired, but still takes an active part in the activities of IKEA. Papa Ingvar is present at the openings, inspects existing stores, taking an interest in everything from organizing trade to the cost of lunch for employees.
Kamprad is easy to talk to, likes to suddenly appear among employees, exchange a few phrases, or even give a lecture, which is usually listened with bated breath. This person manages to convey to the listeners his burning. According to Christopher Barlett, professor at Harvard Business School, "when Kamprad says, everyone around is electrified."
He is a workaholic. He worked from morning to evening in both young and mature years. And even today, having been a man of retirement age for ten years now, and - partly - stepping aside from business, he keeps an ever-expanding empire under strict and vigilant control. Constantly traveling from Lausanne to Sweden and other countries of the world, Kamprad inspects one after another about 20 department stores a year. However, such inspections are perceived by employees of department stores more with joy than with fear. “Papa Ingvar”, mean, but caring, “IKEA family”, as Kamprad himself calls his huge staff, generally loves. He is keenly interested in everything - from the cost of lunch in the dining room for employees to the organization of staff at each work site. As a good leader, he knows that "cadres decide everything."
As a businessman, first of all, and later as a father, he “excommunicated” his three sons from the throne. Each of them works in the IKEA concern, each will receive a huge jackpot from his father’s heritage. But Kamprad does not allow them to lead his empire. “The three of us cannot lead the concern,” he explains. “Having given preference to one, I will ruin my brainchild by the internecine struggle of my sons.” Such certainty - on the verge of cruelty - in some decisions made by Kamprad, for some causes comparisons with the sect. IKEA sect, in which everyone obeys the will of his father and patron.
IKEA - problems, rumors, gossip, reputation
Not everything is perfect in the IKEA saga. Critics grumble about the imperfection of the service, queues and crush, and incomprehensible assembly instructions and sometimes missing screws and nuts are called blatant mockery of the buyer. There are those who contemptuously call the IKEA mass design "consumer goods" in which personality is lost. More “toothy” critics say that IKEA has an aggressive business style, that the company puts pressure on suppliers, forcing them to change the product line, “pacifies” the disobedient ... The company is criticized for the quality of individual products, defenders of afforestation accuse of all mortal sins. But, according to customer reviews, IKEA remains a symbol of global unity, a sweet word for millions of its fans, no matter what critics say.
During the existence of the concern, its reputation has been repeatedly threatened. In the mid-80s, a big scandal erupted over the use in the company's products of a toxic substance - formaldehyde. For the first time, the company managed to get out of the situation in a rather non-standard way: IKEA allocated about $ 3 million for GREENPEACE research programs. After this, such scandals took place until the end of the 90s, however, they did not cause serious damage to the company's image, thanks to the already described know-how in dealing with environmentalists.
IKEA: The economy must be economical
There are legends about Kamprad's treason. When he goes on business trips — and he often has to travel — he lives in a three-star hotel, and at breakfast (if he is included in the price) he eats up to the dump, so that he will not open his wallet until the evening. When you have to pay for food from your pocket, our millionaire goes to second-rate restaurants, not disdaining to bite a worm with a hamburger. He never rides a taxi unless absolutely necessary. In public transport, he says, traveling is much cheaper, and there is the opportunity to talk with people whose tastes and needs a good businessman needs to know. Going on business, orders tickets exclusively to the second grade, and numerous photographs of Kamprad indicate that he dresses cheaply and often sloppy (which a real billionaire can afford). “At my age, it’s stupid to throw money around,” Ingvar explains to journalists who have been prying for decades trying to explain his greed, and advises meeting his eldest son, Peter, who tucked his father in his belt with his stinginess.
“How can I demand frugality from people who work for me if I spend time in luxury and comfort?” Ingvar Kamprad.
Strict principles of economy apply in the corporation itself. IKEA supports prices through a well-defined strategy. The Swedish company orders its furniture only where it is produced cheaply. The company produces 10% of its ten thousandth assortment itself, buys the rest. And he buys literally in parts: countertops - in one country, table legs - in another. This is done in order to reduce the cost.
Marginal savings everywhere and in everything is the general strategic line of the company from the first days and throughout its existence. Savings begin with the development of models for future branded products that IKEA designers are in direct contact with manufacturers to avoid multiple adjustments. It continues as suppliers search for the most suitable raw materials and materials for the ratio of cost and quality, their wholesale purchase for the entire batch planned for release, includes all product manufacturing processes - almost always serial and in-line, with maximum optimization and automation of technological operations. Finally, it ends already in IKEA stores, where the practice of “self-service warehouses” is widespread, from which customers pick up furniture that has been disassembled and packed in flat boxes on their own.
Ingvar Kamprad himself in an interview revealed the pricing policy in IKEA. A middle and lower middle income family is taken. It is calculated how much she is able to spend on home improvement and on each pillow or floor lamp separately. Thus, the optimal cost of each item is recognized. Further, the company's specialists create its technical description and look at which supplier will be able to ensure its high-quality implementation within the budget. Sometimes company managers help the manufacturer to master a new technology. Maybe today such a technique does not surprise anyone, but when IKEA started, it seemed like a revolution.
IKEA, in a sense, is also a symbol of economic stability. The prices of goods approved and published in the seasonal catalog do not change during the year. The only thing that can change them is discounts as part of regular sales held by the company.
Profitability is an element of the business strategy of the company and the main quality of its founder. With the blessing of Ingvar Kamprad, the concept of luxury is missing from IKEA. Top managers fly to business meetings in economy class and stay in inexpensive hotels. Kamprad himself drinks expensive drinks from the hotel minibar, if only later he can replace them with cheaper ones bought at the nearest supermarket. The billionaire allegedly does not disdain magazine coupons for free parking and often uses public transport. It is not surprising that the company's employees act as free models during the filming of the annual IKEA catalog.
The founder impresses others with external modesty and teaches: “Money spoils a person. They should be used as resources for investment, and not as a means of satisfying whims. ” In 2006, the Swedish press called Kamprad the richest man on the planet who outdid Bill Iates himself, however, the IKEA’s intricate ownership system does not accurately calculate the assets of the Swedish businessman, because the sensation has not been documented.
The economy of Kamprad is not coquetry, flirting with the people - they say, I'm no better than you. This is a life credo and at the same time is part of the IKEA philosophy. “Each crown is a crown,” Kamprad likes to say, that is, “a penny saves a ruble.” In his opinion, many of the techniques of designers - trendy and modern - make furniture more expensive and, therefore, inaccessible to the general consumer. That is why IKEA designers must have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe entire furniture production chain - from the idea to the delivery of the finished product to the store and from there to the buyer. This helps the designer understand the pricing process, and prices, in turn, should be as low as possible. This is why IKEA furniture is sold as semi-finished products that are assembled by home buyers. This reduces the cost of storage and transportation. For the sake of the same savings, design centers serve all IKEA markets. Orders for the manufacture of furniture are placed around the world - where it is cheaper.
“The IKEA business philosophy is defined by one golden rule: treat any problem as a new opportunity. Problems give amazing chances. When we were forbidden to buy the same furniture that was made for others, we began to come up with our own design, and we got our own style. When we lost suppliers in our country, the rest of the world opened up before us, ”recalls Kamprad ..
According to Ingvar Kamprad, any business should keep in touch with its roots. Therefore, every employee of the IKEA family of thousands of people scattered around the world knows by heart the saga of the birth of the company. Its headquarters is located not in the fashionable Stockholm, but in the village of Elmhult, where in 1953 the first furniture pavilion was opened. There is also a museum where you can learn about the milestones of her business journey. For IKEA, historical heritage is an integral component of the success of corporate culture and business philosophy, on which more than one generation of managers and ordinary workers has been brought up.
Researchers argue that teams and companies driven by a great idea are more productive, even if their ultimate goal is to make money. IKEA was originally guided by the lofty idea embodied in the slogan "Better Life for Many." Ingvar Kamprad wanted people around the world to be able to buy beautiful furniture and home furnishings, and this desire turned into a mission. Icon British magazine wrote: “If it weren’t for IKEA, for most people modern design in the house would not be available.” And Kamprada called Icon itself "the person who had the most powerful influence on the tastes of consumers."
IKEA’s continued existence cannot be called cloudless: the aging population of developed countries does not feel the necessary enthusiasm for “simple and modern” design; rivals with similar products are actively moving on the market: Italian Argos, Danish Ilva. In addition, traditional shopping is threatened by the boom of online shopping. However, IKEA is not afraid of this: its stores offer the buyer irreplaceable visual and tactile sensations and real pleasure from hanging out. The other "threats" IKEA contrasts with an unprecedented emotional response in the hearts of millions of customers around the world ....
