The magic of IKEA

 

Yesterday I visited an IKEA store. And whilst I've always felt that it was a good idea, it dawned upon me how awesome the idea was. The magic of IKEA was amazing. It had a story. And they told it well. Very well.
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/history/index.html

And like all great stories, this one to was a simple one. The clarity of the brand is visible in the IKEA business idea. Simple and self explanatory
"At IKEA our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them."
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/our_business_idea/index.html

And what they have done is remarkable. I'm not an expert in either furniture or retail. But it seems to me that the biggest cost in furniture is the cost of making it, and the cost of displaying and stocking it. IKEA did a very simple thing. It removed the cost of making, by putting the onus of making on the furniture buyer. Removed the problem of stocking by creating packaging for the now bits and pieces of furniture. And reduced costs by creating furniture as a standardized mass product.

And by using a small number of standard set of joiners, the re-usability of most of the products became phenomenal not only across similar furniture types but even across furniture types.

What is remarkable about the brand is that unlike most multinational brands, profit does not seem to be the only driver. They seem to care about the environment, the needy in society, children who need help and have again used their brand and money to support these.
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/facts_and_figures/yearly_summary.html

The concept of IKEA Sustainable living is yet another of their good ideas.
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/people_and_planet/index.html

Who says all corporations are selfish and greedy ?