This is the first presentation I have created. This is a mini case study on IKEA and what it could be doing. This presentation has been created as a part of the marketing internship under Prof. Sameer Mathur.

1. ….very mundane
Buying a furniture used to be mundane…….

2. And then…..
...happened

3. A little bit about
history…..
Started by a 17-year old Swede
Ingvar Kamprad in 1943
Started out by selling pens and
Christmas cards out of his
family’s farm
As of now, IKEA has
approximately 350 stores in 43
countries; with revenues in 2013
topping $36 billion.

4. Their Showrooms are
attractive and its leading
edge design and innovation
in its products makes it
globally recognisable.

6. In Scandinavia, IKEA targets the cultural
factors, and sells sheepishly clever
scandinavian designs that attract the buyers
towards its products.

7. Oh, yeah, and it stays
relevant always by talking
about daily happenings.
This makes sure that it is
always talked about in
“reference groups” of
people.

8. So, what does
IKEA do different
to be so
successful?

9. Apart from the leading
edge design, of
course…..

10. It advertises in a brilliant manner…..

11. Or as Social Media
calls it….

12. SAVAGE

13. IKEA
adjusts

14. Moving away from the only “Do It
Yourself” in Scandinavian countries, the
company introduced an option for
home delivery was introduced in Asian
markets on noticing that people in
those markets preferred convenience
over payment when it came to delivery.

15. For example:
IKEA catered to the local Chinese
interests by creating special
rooster themed products during
the Chinese New Year. It did
similar things in New York, right
from changing the sizes of the
showrooms to having special king
sized beds.

16. WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE DOING?

17. Learn from experiences
Its recent experiences in China can
come handy before entering India. It
needs to make sure that it learns
from them and makes sure that it
knows the Indian market before
entering. On a broader scale, this
can be done for every Asian market
it enters post India.

18. Adjust its price structure
It needs to come up with new price
structures (especially) in Asian markets.
It somehow needs to integrate the
delivery fees within the price of the
furniture so that its consumers don’t feel
that they are overpaying ‘simple’ for
delivery.
This would go a long way in ensuring
that Asian consumers are happy and
satisfied. This might help its sales, even
though not in the most significant way.

19. Being IKEA
Pros:
Making ‘class’ furniture synonymous to IKEA
IKEA gets to lead the industry by setting
examples
Is idealised worldwide for its cutting edge
design.
Cons:
Setting examples implies taking
risks. This might backfire at times.
A section of consumers might
view IKEA as an “elite” brand.
This might hurt its overall sales.
Innovation is not always
successful. If gone wrong even
once, it can harm the image of
the company.

20. Do it like IKEA: Summarising the giant
IKEA, through its leading edge design and innovative
showrooms, is one step ahead of its competitors.
It advertises better than most others, and makes sure that its
advertising keeps it relevant amongst the social circles and
reference groups of people.
It adapts. IKEA changes its product line(s) and services offered
in different markets according to the changing cultural and
social environments.
It also has certain Pros and Cons.
The biggest Pro: Being an industry leader
The biggest Con: Risk of this innovation not doing well

21. DISCLAIMER
This presentation is
created by
Hrishikesh Dubey,
Symbiosis School of
Economics; during a
Marketing internship
with Prof. Sameer
Mathur, IIM
Lucknow.