International marketing strategy

Résumé du document

This Swedish chain began as the vision of one enterprising young man. As a boy, Ingvar Kamprad used to purchase matches in Stockholm, and sell them to people in his native rural town of Agunnaryd at a discount price. Eventually, he applied this concept from matches to mattresses and home furnishings, all at discount prices but without sacrificing quality.

IKEA was founded in 1943 when Kamprad was only 17 years old. The first IKEA store opened in Sweden in 1958. IKEA is an acronym: the first two letters reflect the founder's name: Ingvar Kamprad and e the last two letters stand for the name of the family farm, and the town the founder grew up in: Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd.

Initially, the furniture at IKEA was more or less the same as that offered by other manufacturers in the area. The breakthrough that led to the ‘do it yourself' style of flat packed furnishings came when Ingvar and a designer were trying to pack a table but were struggling with the amount of space it was taking up. In frustration, the designer exclaimed ‘Let's pull off the legs and put them underneath'. Once this was done, it fit neatly into the car and the rest is history.

The IKEA concept is one of the most studied business cases of the century. It was born in 1965, when the largest IKEA store was opened in Stockholm. Nobody was expecting hundreds of people to be waiting to get into the store, so the managers decided to allow people to enter the warehouse and help themselves. That was the origin of IKEA's low prices: purchasing as inexpensively as possible and flat-packing furniture for customers to put together themselves. Then, this concept was subsequently exported to other countries.

Extraits

[...] The positioning p. Ten points for the development strategy p. The marketing mix p. Balance of autonomy and strategic direction p. PRODUCT SELECTION p. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGY p. The positioning p. Ten points for the development strategy p. The marketing mix p. Balance of autonomy and strategic direction p. [...]

[...] For example, the Asian continent has furniture and objects that are really different from those we can find almost everywhere else owing to its culture. Thus, Ikea will be increasingly closer to its customers, while responding to their needs with a range of varied and low-priced products. Also, Ikea will be able to attack its competitors more directly on each market. CONCLUSION IKEA is unquestionably an original group. Throughout its history, this company has been very successful with the consumers. This is marked by a growth which today widely exceeds the borders of Europe. [...]

[...] Tone: Derision, sarcasm Catchphrase: "Ça ne meurt pas un meuble, ça se change" Signature: “Réagissez” which appears like an advice Used medias TV table” canapé” commode "Le poisson rouge" (catalogue) Cinema commode” "L'armoire" Press/Billboard Sultan mattress The product campaign Radio: the goldfish Above the line Sultan mattress Internet banners Les petits prix 2005 CLM BBDO Used medias TV England advertising execution A positioning built on the claim “Live unlimited” The speech is entirely oriented towards happiness, and thus the brand invests in a colored and sweetened territory. In contrast to the French communication where the brand proposes explicitly to look at home life from a child's perspective; in the UK market childhood is an implicit inspiration territory. The other huge difference stands in the absence of institutional speech in UK. Press: product oriented ads with a pinch of irony. TV: dedicated to short and creative spots CRM: a highly developed direct mail program. Numerous promotions dedicated to the cardholders. [...]

[...] Together we save money." The company targets the customer who is looking for value and is willing to do a little bit of work in transporting the items home and assembling the furniture, for a better price. The typical Ikea customer is young with a low to middle income family. Ikea's strategic positioning is unique: few furniture retailers anywhere else have engaged in long-term planning or achieved economies of scale in production. European furniture retailers are much smaller than IKEA. [...]

[...] Take responsibility for our suppliers, their co-workers and for the environment 10. Keep the culture of IKEA a strong living reality Based on these jobs, a worldwide strategy has been formulated and implemented including recruitment, succession planning, mobility, diversity, flexibility and work/life balance, training and development, leadership and culture. the marketing mix The marketing mix consists of 4 different areas of focus: the product, the store, the catalogue and the advertising. - The IKEA product range is our starting point. All other marketing communication is used to amplify the product range. [...]