At the moment (2020), IKEA is represented in Russia by almost a dozen supermarkets. It's about especially in large cities.
The shops
In addition to a large number shopping centers in more than 30 countries of the world, at the moment IKEA in Russia has 14 large hypermarkets located in different cities:
- (Moscow)
- (Moscow)
- (Moscow)
- Khodynskoye field (Moscow)
- (St. Petersburg)
- (St. Petersburg)
- Novosibirsk
- Kazan
More detailed information you can find out about the addresses by clicking on the links to the corresponding pages of the site. In addition to its own sites, the same concern owns a network of shopping centers "Mega", which houses completely different stores, from clothing to accessories and household appliances.
Attention! As for the product catalog, you can familiarize yourself with it on the official website at ikea.ru.
In addition, the plans of this international concern include further development. And this is despite some slowdown due to the current economic crisis. So, in addition to such large cities as Moscow, as well as St. Petersburg, as well as other large industrial and industrial centers where the IKEA chain of stores is represented, there are prospects for the foreseeable future regarding the further development of the company. It is planned to open new stores in more than two dozen Russian cities with a population of 500 thousand or even less.
Production
In addition to our own premises, as well as Mega shopping centers, production capacity The companies include 4 plants located in the following regions:
- Leningrad region (Tikhvin).
- Moscow region (Esipovo).
- Kirov region (Krasnaya Polyana village).
- Velikiy Novgorod.
In addition, a significant number of factories located throughout Russia are working to fulfill the company's orders, manufacturing products for the catalog presented on the official website. For the most part, the assortment includes furniture for various rooms (bedroom, kitchen, nursery, bathroom, workplace, etc.), as well as various useful accessories and household items.
Every well-to-do Muscovite at least once in his life built a dacha, made repairs, or at least symbolically prettified his home. Creating a new interior and the desired atmosphere in the house today is a troublesome business, but quite pleasant and creative. And the IKEA store, which operates in the DIY format, that is, “do it yourself”, will help to realize home plans. It sells everything that you can beautifully “dress” your home in: from laminate boards and wall paint to luxurious curtains and lighting fixtures.
AT ikea store in Moscow, a breathtaking selection of practical and durable furniture, finishing and building materials, kitchen utensils, mirrors, decor items and other household "accessories". Here you can also find various goodies, namely traditional Swedish delicacies, in particular crispbread and herring. In addition, the Ikea store in Moscow offers a full range of necessary additional services: here you can use the Delivery Service or the Taxi Service, as well as services for connecting built-in appliances, assembling furniture and its complex installation, etc.
Useful downloads - Current product catalogs
IKEA is a Swedish manufacturing and trading group of companies, which is one of the world's largest retailers selling household goods and furniture. The company's turnover in 2016 exceeded 36 billion euros. The company has long been ranked among the "World's Best Brands" (average position in the ranking is 26th), and in the most recent "World's Most Valuable Brands" ranking, IKEA was ranked 55th with a brand value of $18.08 billion.
IKEA was founded by Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad. He was born into a family of farmers, and spent his entire childhood working in agriculture. Members of the Kamprad family before him tried to run a business, but it did not bring any special dividends. But, thanks to this, since childhood, Ingvar was well versed in trade. In his youth, he tried selling matches and fish.
In 1943, having invested all his savings and borrowed money from his father, seventeen-year-old Kamprad opened an IKEA store., whose name is an acronym made up of the initial letters of his first and last name and the names of the farm and village where he was born and raised. The choice of store specialization was influenced by the situation in the country. Finding good and inexpensive household items, essentials and furniture was almost impossible.
History of the IKEA logo, image: ikea.com
Ingvar Kamprad started his activities with the sale of small household items, and the first main model of the company's work was the mailing list.
One of the first promotions The company was almost on the verge of failure. Young Kamprad decided to take out a small loan and order ballpoint pens in France, which were in short supply in Sweden at the time. For a quick sale of goods, he promised everyone who came to the presentation of coffee and a bun. This proposal attracted more than a thousand people, which greatly exceeded the plans of the young businessman. Having spent a lot of money and investing a lot of effort, he fulfilled his promise. The presentation was successful and the product sold quickly.
Video: amazing story founder of IKEA.
Stages of company development
The first steps
Until 1948, the IKEA store was focused on the sale of small household items. During this period, Kamprad thought about expanding the business. To expand the range, he decided to choose furniture that always has a stable demand. And at that time, inexpensive furniture was considered a scarce commodity at all. The expansion of the company began with an increase in staff. Until this period, only Kamprad himself worked in the store. In 1948 he hired his first employee. By 1950, the company's staff already consisted of 4 people.
At first, the bet in the company was made on cheap furniture., which was made in small industries. Later, the approach was changed: it was decided to purchase parts and assemble the furniture on our own. Thus, it was possible to significantly reduce prices and gain popularity among customers.
In 1958, the first IKEA brand store was opened in Elmhult. Here, for the first time in Sweden, it was possible to try furniture before buying it. Such a marketing ploy at times increased the popularity of the store.
Due to difficulties with suppliers who were forbidden by competitors 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 buy goods abroad. All necessary goods he found 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, tableware was added to the store's product line. Also, to reduce queues, work was carried out to optimize the number and placement of cash desks.
In 1973, in order to optimize taxation, the company's center was moved to Denmark.
Beginning of active expansion
Photo: pixabay In the 70s, the company begins an active expansion of countries Western Europe: Stores were opened in Switzerland, Germany, and France. At the end of the seventies, the work of Ingvar Kamprad's "Commandments of a Furniture Dealer" was presented to the world, which became a mandatory reading book for all employees of the company.
In the early 1980s, the first IKEA stores opened 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 hippie cult that was popular at the time, democratic and original IKEA stores quickly became popular.
In parallel with the conquest of new markets, the company expanded its product range. In the 1980s, IKEA introduced its first sofa.
In 1986, Ingvar Kamprad left his post as head of the company and became a consultant to the fund manager of the Stiching INGKA Foundation. Anders Muberg, who worked as Kamprad's deputy, became the general director.
In the early 1990s, the expansion of the countries 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 created that regulates the work in the company.
Work via 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 working to develop Asian stores and e-commerce. The first store in Japan was opened in 2006, and the chain began to develop rapidly with standard technology. The Chinese market, on which great hopes are placed, did not immediately submit. The first stores opened in the early 2000s were losing money. Only after changing the concept for this market did the Chinese chain of stores begin to develop. Today it has about 10 stores.
Video: see with your own eyes how production is set up at IKEA.
IKEA in Russia
IKEA's first attempts to enter Russian market date back to the late 1980s. Ingvar Kamprad personally negotiated and planned to create a whole complex for the production of furniture in the USSR. But no final agreement was reached.
The companies 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. About 30,000 people visited the hypermarket on the first day. The opening of the second store attracted over 50,000 visitors.
By 2008, there were 11 brand stores in Russia, and in 2017 there were already 14 of them.
In September 2016, IKEA launched the largest furniture factory in Russia. The investment in this project is estimated at €50 million.
Main competitors
On a global scale, the Swedish retailer has virtually no competitors. In some regions and directions, IKEA competes JYSK, Metro Group, Leroy Merlin and Hoff. Only JYSK, operating in the same segment as IKEA, can be considered a direct competitor. Metro Group, Leroy Merlin and Hoff have a wider product range than the Swedish retailer, so they compete with it partially.
IKEA today
Today IKEA is formally a Dutch company. The country of registration was changed in 2012 to optimize taxation.
In 2016, the company's revenue amounted to 36.4 billion euros. To date, the company operates 389 stores around the world, which are visited by more than 900 million visitors a year. IKEA has 183,000 employees.
The priority direction of the company's development is online sales. IKEA is developing a modern technology platform that should drive sales growth in this segment.
Significant hopes are also placed on the Chinese market, which has not yet been fully developed and has significant potential for growth.
"And how much would you pay for that?"
I. Kamprad
IKEA brand renowned throughout the world for its low prices and the legendary cost-effectiveness system that is constantly being improved. Its corporate culture and positioning in the market are praised by many venerable marketers and branding specialists. 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 the now world-famous place called Småland. The inhabitants of this particular part of Sweden are known as thrifty, hardworking and at the same time creative people. This is also related to living conditions, and with the history of the area.
There were businessmen in the Kamprad family before Ingvar, and even one tragic story related to unsuccessful entrepreneurship. Ingvar's grandfather committed suicide due to the fact that he could not pay off the huge loans taken for the needs of the business.
Little Ingvar showed great interest in trade
from a very early age: from about the age of five he began to sell matches, and at an older age he took up trading in a variety of areas. Thus, the future founder of a world-famous company traded in seeds, fish, lingonberries, so popular and beloved in Sweden, and Christmas cards. In fairness, it is worth saying that this, in fact, is the whole education of Ingvar Kamprad. He never studied business and marketing, did not read special literature and did not attend special classes on this topic, Ingvar does not have any higher education. Everything he knows is based solely on the richest experience, his own mistakes and a very, very attentive attitude to the world and people.
Founding of IKEA.
In a difficult time for the whole world, in 1943, Ingvar founded his company, remarkable in all respects - IKEA. The company sold fountain pens. Wait laugh, for the mid-twentieth century, this was a truly innovative product. So, Russia at that time was still written with pens, 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-fledged cooperation. Ingvar was only 17 years old, and he could not register a company due to his young age and lack of funds.
If we are talking about furniture, then we can easily mention the one that only billionaires and kings and queens use.
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 in Ingvar will permeate such a field, seemingly far from all kinds of sentiment, as trade.
Samo the name 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 one is the 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 furniture in Sweden was unusually expensive and therefore inaccessible to many segments of the population. And the enterprising Kamprad felt the beating of the golden key. He decided to fix the situation in the market of a small but proud country and turned IKEA into a furniture store. Initially, IKEA bought the cheapest chairs and tables. Nevertheless, Ingvard gave his name to each thing, which was an innovative solution in those days. This simple marketing ploy allowed the company to stand out from its competitors in a short time. Moreover, the most the best advertisement word of mouth, and word quickly spread around the city of a fabulously cheap furniture store.
The high sales volume very quickly allowed Ingvar to acquire his own furniture factory.
Already in 1951, the Swedish factory IKEA began to produce sensationally cheap furniture. In a country where furniture products were almost a luxury item, such a strategic move was like the effect of an exploding bomb. It became almost impossible to compete honestly with the enlarged IKEA, and the association of furniture sellers began to put pressure on local suppliers who worked with IKEA. Using power, persuasion and bribery, they managed to get them to boycott such an impudent and successful company. In the course of the story, I note that today IKEA fundamentally does not give bribes and declares this publicly.
Let IKEA be one of the largest in the world, but still not
So, such a hard boycott for ordinary person would have been a heavy blow from which he might not have been able to recover. But Kamprad was not like that. For him, in spite of all the intrigues of enemies, this was just an excuse to look for new opportunities and further development. Now Ingvar buys 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 for the company.
IKEA's next move, aimed at reducing costs and lowering the final price of the product, was the refusal to deliver furniture. Now it was done exclusively by the buyers themselves. At the same time, the assembly of IKEA furniture is surprisingly simple, Igvar paid a lot of attention to this particular design feature when designing furniture. Even a completely ignorant person can easily assemble an IKEA chair or table, armed with only simple tools like a screwdriver, detailed instructions and a burning desire to save money.
IKEA catalog cover for 2011.
All these events led to the fact that 4 years after the start of the work of the Kamprad furniture store, a printed catalog was released with images of IKEA products and prices set for goods. Then, just like today, it was just thrown into the mailboxes.
Only then - Sweden, and today - the whole world.
The law, which Ingvar Kamprad established once and for all, says: you cannot sell things above the price indicated in the catalog throughout the year. Cheaper is possible. More expensive - no, no.
In 1952, at the annual Stockholm fair, Ingvar Kamprad for the first time presented furniture to the general public with surprisingly low prices, and this shocked Sweden. Then Kamprad went to America, where he saw Cash & Carry stores, traditionally located in the suburbs for the United States. And Kamprad said: "I have an idea!" It was then that the company that we know now was born in his mind. He correctly reasoned that the future of world transport is for personal cars, for the most part people will be able to get out to the nearby suburbs in order to purchase inexpensive and relatively high-quality furniture. Stores are organized as huge warehouses, where you can partially pick up the products yourself, without involving store personnel or using them to a minimum. Thus, first in Stockholm, then in Ingvar's small homeland, and subsequently around the world, shops with yellow and blue signs were opened - IKEA.
Attitude towards the buyer.
With all the cheapness of goods in Kamprad's stores, it cannot be said that it is ugly, uncomfortable or that they do not care about customers. Yes, they don’t serve sparkling wine in tall glasses, but there is a place where you can leave the child, there is where to have a bite, not very tasty, I must say, but satisfying and inexpensive. There is delivery and assembly. In a word, any whim for your money. But nothing is forced. And even (in what other store is this possible?) there is a huge poster hanging, they say, if you change your mind, no problem!
We'll take our good back!
I must say that Ingvar himself was known as one of the meanest people in the world. Still would! As a billionaire, he surprised the world community with the fact that he traveled by public transport, had the simplest house, and when traveling abroad, he lived in three-star hotels and ate in inexpensive cafes. Note that a 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 mindful of the middle class by staying in a penthouse and dining in those places where one dish costs, like a car of a mediocre entrepreneur? That's right, no way. Therefore, spiteful critics, hands off Ingvar Kamprad!
Ingvar Kamprad - our days.
The creator of IKEA is Ingvard Kampard.
Yes, even at the age of seventy he visits up to twenty stores a day to study the problem of matching the quality of the product to the price at which it is laid out. His favorite question to customers is: "How much would you pay for this?" Yes, Ingvar to this day loves public speaking with pulling garbage out of the basket and talking about the fact that this item could be put into action! And at the same time, he is not at all an old man who has gone out of his mind, but a genius who has found his niche and skillfully changes the world for the better.
The result is obvious - prices in IKEA are 20-30% lower than those of competitors.
A simple white through shelving has been successfully sold in all countries for twenty years - a fact!
Currently, the company is run by the sons of Ingvar, and his business is alive, as you can see by just periodically looking into the mailbox. But not should we go to IKEA on the weekend?
Anyone who has been to IKEA knows that there you can pick up free writing utensils and return batteries. But there are pens that are not handed out just like that, in stores, but are sold at very reputable auctions.
Video: Megafactories - IKEA
It is believed that in the apartment of every Western European family there is at least one thing with the IKEA logo. It doesn't have to be furniture. Some accessory, toy, underwear - something from IKEA. Even if you yourself basically did not buy anything in the chain store, something was definitely inherited from relatives or got into the apartment as a gift.
At one time, the spread of IKEA across Europe was called an epidemic. Since the opening of the first stores in Russia, the IKEA epidemic has also captured our country. IKEA is loved for democratic originality (the company's findings in the field of design are recognized as outstanding by all design schools in the world) and despised for mass character, universality (everywhere you look, the same floor lamps and sofas are everywhere). A global brand in all its contradictions. The founder, 80-year-old Ingvard Kamprad, has been creating it since he was 20. IKEA started out selling coffee tables and is now the world's largest furniture company.
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 look at the billionaire's homeland; Kamprad's first store is also located there) in 1926. Kamprad's biographers believe that Ingvar's passion for trade was inherited. In 1897, the company owned by the grandfather of the future billionaire was on the verge of bankruptcy. The head of the family was unable to pay the mortgage and committed suicide. But Ingvar's grandmother manages to save the case.
Kamprad himself began to earn money by selling matches. Here is how he himself 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 even charged me for postage. After that, I sold matches for two or three ore a box, and some even for 5 ore. I still remember the pleasant feeling that I experienced when I received my first profit. At that time I was no more than five years old. Later I got into selling Christmas cards and wall pictures. I caught fish and then rode around on a bicycle and sold it in the area. I picked lingonberries and sent them by bus to a buyer in another city. At eleven, my main business was selling seeds. It was my first big deal and I made enough money to trade in my mother's old bike for a new racing model." But fountain pens were in the 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 crowns ($63 at that time) from the district bank for purchase. According to Kamprad, this was the first and last loan he took out in his life. Fashion goods were supplied by a French company. She then demanded that their distributor register own enterprise. Kamprad persuaded his father to help him with the paperwork, and soon IKEA was born (“Ingvard Kamprad, Elmtaryud in Agunaryd” - the first letters of the name and surname, the name of his father’s farm and the 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 had already got off his bike and switched to distributing goods by mail. And to pens and matches he added the most uncomplicated trifle, like stationery, wallets, nylon stockings and mosquito repellent.
The first entrepreneurial steps of the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, his early, as he calls it, "tendency for profit" is apparently one of the most important subjective conditions for success. The desire to earn money at the genetic level. The Swedish billionaire never studied at the university (at school, teachers could not teach him to read for a long time), but the business strategy that he applied at IKEA is studied at many universities. educational institutions Europe.
Finally, in 1948, Kamprad came up with the idea to switch to furniture. Kamprad negotiates with small furniture manufacturers and starts selling two models - an armchair without armrests and a coffee table. Kamprad called the chair “Ruth” (he always thought it was difficult to remember the name of inventory items). Since then, it has been customary at IKEA to give names to furniture. At the same time, several more business principles of Kamprad were born. First, he began to send out to 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 buyers with an average income. Therefore, he orders the most inexpensive models at the surrounding furniture factories. Even then, he came to his famous formula: "It is better to lower the price and sell 600 chairs than to sell 60 chairs at a high price."
In 1951, Kamprad bought an old factory, where he began to produce cheap, simple furniture. Gradually, his company, thanks to affordable prices, gained fame in Sweden. However, such a trade policy led to a boycott, which was announced by the Swedish National Furniture Sellers Association at the end of the 50s, outraged by the low prices of IKEA products. Under the pressure of the association, the 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 some of the components necessary for assembling furniture “for cheap” from Polish suppliers. So the founder of IKEA laid down the company's future strategy - to place orders for goods in those countries where it costs less.
In the early 60s, Kamprad made an educational trip to America. It was there that he first saw stores selling Cash&Carry. He liked the scheme of trade itself: huge stores are located outside the city, and buyers serve themselves - they put goods in a cart and take them to their car.
When IKEA opened a large store near Stockholm in 1963, there was a lot of arrangement based on the American experience, albeit creatively reworked. Firstly, it was a suburb: land prices are much lower there, and there is a place to park a car. Secondly, in order to reduce transportation costs, the company ordered collapsible furniture, where each part was placed in a flat package. It was easier and cheaper to transport them that way. Buyers themselves had to assemble the furniture. Kamprad has long noticed that people actually like to assemble their own cabinets and sofas. Especially if you make the assembly procedure simple thanks to detailed instructions.
In 1969, the company opened a store in Denmark and built distribution center in Elmhult. The last step, from the point of view of common sense, is not indisputable. 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 even far away. To encourage customers, the IKEA store began selling roof racks for cars. Of course, at a bargain price. Thanks to this policy, the company's turnover doubled in one year. The store itself, called Kungens Kurva, appearance reminiscent of the New York Guggenheim Museum, which Kamprad liked very much. During the grand opening of the store, a huge scandal almost erupted. No one expected that so many people would arrive on the first day. Thirty thousand Swedes certainly wanted to buy their furnishings at low prices. The store, although so big, didn't have that much stock. And the crowd, sweeping away everything in its path, somewhat contradicted the principle preached by IKEA. A leisurely discussion was adopted here, which bookcase would suit an easy chair, with a cup of delicious coffee.
Kamprad made the only right decision in this situation - to launch buyers into the warehouse. So IKEA accidentally came up with its "crown" formula: store-warehouse. It was with Kungens Kurva that the style of the company's work was finally and forever determined. Now every IKEA furniture store is a kind of exhibition center. Where not only sofas and wardrobes are shown, but also any little things in everyday life: tablecloths, curtains, bedspreads, towels and candlesticks. And all this is placed as it should be in real life. Thus, a store visitor can first look at ten children's rooms in a row, and then twenty-five dining rooms or living rooms, and so on. Having estimated how this or that model looks in a real interior, and choosing the right one, the buyer must go to the warehouse to pick it up. In convenient packages, he transports the furniture unit to his home and assembles it on his own, reading clear and sensible instructions.
After such success in their homeland, IKEA had no choice but to develop foreign 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, and two local chains of furniture stores were well established there. But one day Kamprad, walking around Zurich, overheard a conversation of a young couple. "Beautiful chair!" - said the young woman, looking at the shop window. “But for us it is not yet affordable. Let's buy it next year," her husband replied. This episode made all the difference. And soon IKEA appeared in Switzerland (in 1973). And then in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, USA. In fact, apart from Africa and Asia, IKEA is now present everywhere, including in China. But it is the European market that provides it with the most sales.
In 1976, the development of the New World began - an IKEA store appeared in Canada. In 1981, the firm opened its first store in Paris. There are now 10 IKEA stores in France, and it is ahead of Sweden in terms of sales share. True, cheap Swedish furniture has a specific reputation in France. The French apologize to the guests: "We bought furniture at IKEA - we are now tight with money."
Since the early 1990s, the company has also been active in Eastern Europe. The Swedes came to Russia at the invitation of Nikolai Ryzhkov. While on an official visit to Sweden in 1990, the then chairman of the USSR government expressed the wish that IKEA would 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 about 30 Russian factories scattered throughout the country.
IKEA Business Principles
The IKEA business concept was formed 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 announced a boycott of Kamprad. He was literally hated for selling sofas and armchairs at the lowest prices in the country. To get out of this situation, we had to produce furniture in Poland. It turned out to be much cheaper and more efficient than doing the same in Sweden. Prices at IKEA have become even lower.
There were problems with delivery. Traditionally, furniture was assembled directly in factories, and while it was being transported 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 the furniture unassembled. This again led to savings and allowed prices to be further reduced. Another example. In Europe, in the middle of the last century, furniture was sold only in small showrooms. But because of the cheapness, too many people began to come to us, and we could not cope. I had to build a big store outside the city. There we could serve more customers and save on land rent. As soon as the first large country store opened, it turned out that this was very profitable. (Anders Dalvig, CEO IKEA). The Swedish company offered the buyer a holistic concept for home improvement (furniture and all kinds of accessories plus design tips), and this idea turned out to be ingenious.
In addition, in large country stores, 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 that IKEA open small “themed” stores in the city, instead of building giant country hangars, the indignant response was: “This will never happen! "Everything under one roof" is our sacred concept."
All IKEA stores outside of Sweden are painted yellow and blue to emphasize the company's "Swedishness". 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 direction for IKEA: they sell Swedish national food there.
Inattention to the peculiarities, habits and tastes of the local consumer sometimes leads to oddities. At the first IKEA store in the US, opened in 1976, demand for medium-sized vases outpaced supply. It turned out that the Americans were buying them up because the mugs and glasses offered at IKEA were not large enough by American standards. Now IKEA has specialists who study regional specifics by visiting consumer homes. It turned out that Americans prefer to store clothes rolled up, and Italians - on hangers; Spaniards, unlike the Scandinavians, love to decorate their homes with framed pictures, 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 Nielson, design director.
In one of the studies Harvard Business School claims that IKEA skillfully coerces, gently forcing the buyer to spend more time in its stores (respectively, the amount left there increases). This will also contribute to the planning decision. trading floors- Entering the complex is easy - exiting is long. IKEA turns ordinary shopping into a pleasant pastime. Children can be left playground, graceful displays inspire and stimulate the buyer, wide aisles exclude crowding. You can rest and refresh yourself 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 and blue uniform is easy. IKEA's "soft coercion" culminates in its ability to anticipate consumer needs that the consumer is unaware of. The main thing is to "unwind" 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 can hang a magazine on a towel hook. It is not known how many buyers suffered trying to read a magazine in the bathroom, but the modest clothespin quickly became a bestseller. Two factors came into play: visibility (neatly hanging clothespins with magazines in the display bathroom act magically, convincing you of the need to buy), and also price (clothespins are so cheap that you can buy them just “just in case”). Such goods in IKEA are informally called "hot dogs" - they are cheaper than sausages in the cafeteria.
IKEA pricing
According to Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA prices should take your breath away. The company does not hesitate to state that its prices are the prices of competitors divided by two. There is also a "second tier tactic": if a competitor launches a cheaper similar product, IKEA immediately develops the next version. this product at a price "lower than nowhere."
“Creating beautiful and expensive things is easy, but try to create a beautiful functional thing that will be cheap,” Josephine Rydberg-Dumont voices the company's pricing philosophy. Developing the next product, IKEA first sets a limit above which the price should not rise, and only then the designers (there are more than 90 of them) puzzle over how to fit into these limits. No product will be put into production unless there is a way to make it affordable. The creation of products sometimes drags on for several years. For example, the creation of the PS Ellan dining table ($39.99) with 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 sawdust) that achieves the desired properties.
The international success of IKEA also seems to lie 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 core style of IKEA is functionality, simplicity, ingenuity and declared individuality. According to the company, the main idea promoted 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 - to offer to change the situation in the kitchen, install a convenient shelving in the office, or purchase some funny little thing that will enliven the interior of the living room. This is precisely the “HISTORICAL OPTIMISM” preached by IKEA, which is the basis marketing strategy companies.
IKEA personality
In particular, IKEA fundamentally refuses to divide things into beautiful and ugly. Very different, sometimes the most elementary, unpretentious and unexpected objects and materials can be included in the style design of a home - from great-grandmother's caskets to ultra-modern lamps, and the degree of their aesthetics depends on a whole range of conditions that form a specific human environment. Therefore, the company's products are usually shown in specific interiors: the reception is almost a win-win, since an item that is completely plain at first glance and absolutely seemingly 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 controversial. For example, the company has long been deservedly reproached for the imposed standardization of the environment - there is no question of any individuality that they like to talk about in the company. Of course, this annoys a lot of people. The company, however, has enough self-irony to joke about this topic. Before opening a store in a new country, a 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, the boom begins.
In general, IKEA recognizes that the company has room to move. The company argues as follows: a person buys furniture not only for himself, but also for his neighbors. For himself, he chooses inexpensive and functional furniture from IKEA. Puts it in bedrooms, kitchens and children's rooms. Where he spends most of his time, and where it is not customary to let outsiders. But in the living room, in order to puff out the cheeks in front of the neighbors, mahogany sets and leather sofas are bought. We have conquered kitchens and bedrooms, they say in IKEA, now our task is to conquer the living rooms of our customers.
Ingvar Kamprad
The phenomenal success of IKEA is inextricably linked to the personality of its founder. Some even argue that IKEA is based solely on Kamprad and the devoted "old guard", the carriers of the IKEA culture. And although his adult children take part in the 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 is in his ninth decade, officially he retired a long time ago, but still takes an active part in the activities of IKEA. "Papa Ingvar" is present at openings, inspects existing stores, being interested in everything - from the organization of trade to the cost of lunch for employees.
Kamprad is easy to talk to, likes to appear unexpectedly among employees, exchange a couple of phrases, or even arrange a lecture, which they usually listen to with bated breath. This man manages to convey his burning to the listeners. According to Christopher Barlett, a professor at Harvard Business School, "When Kamprad speaks, everyone is electrified."
He is a workaholic. He worked from morning to evening, both in his youth and in his mature years. And even today, being a man of retirement age for ten years already, and - in part - stepping aside from business, he keeps the ever-growing 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, in general, loves. He takes a keen interest in everything from the cost of a lunch in the employee canteen to the organization of the work of staff at each work site. As a good leader, he knows that "cadres decide everything."
Being, first of all, a businessman, and then 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. “You can't run a concern with three people,” he explains. “Having given preference to one, I will destroy my offspring by the internecine struggle of my sons.” Such certainty - on the verge of cruelty - in individual decisions made by Kamprad, some cause comparisons with a sect. The IKEA sect, in which everyone obeys the will of the 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 scornfully call the mass-produced IKEA design "consumer goods" in which individuality 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 recalcitrant ... The company is criticized for the quality of individual products, defenders of afforestation are accused 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 of a poisonous substance, formaldehyde, in the company's products. For the first time, the company managed to get out of the situation in a rather unusual way: IKEA allocated about $ 3 million for GREENPEACE research programs. After that, such scandals took place until the end of the 90s, but they did not cause serious damage to the company's image, thanks to the already described know-how in communicating with environmentalists.
IKEA: The economy must be economical
There are legends about Kamprad's miserliness. When he travels on business trips - and he has to travel often - he lives in a three-star hotel, and at breakfast (if it is included in the price of accommodation) he eats himself to satiety, so that later he does not open his wallet until the evening. When you have to pay for food out of your own pocket, then our millionaire goes to second-rate restaurants, not disdaining to kill the worm with a hamburger. He never rides in a taxi unless absolutely necessary. Public transport, he says, is much cheaper to travel, and there is an opportunity to communicate with people whose tastes and needs a good businessman needs to know. Going on business, he orders tickets exclusively in the second class, and numerous photographs of Kamprad indicate that he dresses cheaply and often sloppily (which a real billionaire can afford). “At my age, it’s stupid to throw money around,” Ingvar explains to journalists, who have been intrusively asking for decades, what explains his greed, and advises you to get acquainted with his eldest son Peter, who with his stinginess put his father into his belt.
“How can I demand frugality from people who work for me if I spend time in luxury and comfort” Ingvar Kamprad.
Rigid principles of economy operate in the corporation itself. IKEA maintains prices with a well-defined strategy. The Swedish company orders its furniture only where it is produced cheaply. The company produces 10% of its 10,000th assortment itself, and buys the rest. Moreover, he buys literally in parts: countertops - in one country, table legs - in another. This is done in order to reduce costs.
Marginal economy everywhere and in everything has been the general strategic line of the company from the first days and throughout the entire period of its existence. Savings begin with the development of models of future branded products, which IKEA designers are in direct contact with manufacturers - in order to avoid multiple adjustments. It continues as suppliers search for the most suitable options for raw materials and materials in terms of cost and quality, their wholesale purchase for the entire batch planned for release, includes all manufacturing processes of products - 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 buyers independently pick up furniture that has been disassembled and packed in flat boxes.
Ingvar Kamprad himself in an interview revealed the pricing policy at IKEA. A family with an average and below average income 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. Next, the company's specialists create it technical description and see which supplier can ensure its quality performance within the budget. Sometimes company managers help the manufacturer to master new technology. Maybe today this technique no longer surprises 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 the regular sales that the company holds.
Thrift is an element of the company's business strategy and the main quality of its founder. With the blessing of Ingvar Kamprad, there is no such thing as luxury at 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 a nearby supermarket. The billionaire allegedly does not shy away from magazine coupons for free parking and often uses public transport. Not surprisingly, employees of the company act as free models during the filming of the annual IKEA catalog.
The founder impresses those around him with outward modesty and teaches: “Money spoils a person. They should be used as resources for investment, not as a means to satisfy whims.” In 2006, the Swedish press called Kamprad the richest man on the planet, outdoing Bill Yeats himself, but IKEA's intricate ownership system does not allow you to accurately calculate the assets of the Swedish businessman, so the sensation is not documented.
Kamprad's frugality 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 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 designer techniques - super fashionable and modern - make furniture more expensive and, therefore, inaccessible to the general consumer. That is why IKEA designers must have an understanding of the entire chain of furniture production - 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 should be kept 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 production of furniture are placed all over the world - where it is cheaper.
“The IKEA business philosophy is defined by one golden rule: Treat every problem as if it were 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 had our own style. When we lost our suppliers in our country, the rest of the world opened up before us,” Kamprad recalls.
According to Ingvar Kamprad, any business should keep in touch with its roots. Therefore, every employee of the IKEA “family” scattered all over the world knows by heart the saga of the birth of the company. Its headquarters are not located in fashionable Stockholm, but in the village of Elmhult, where the first furniture pavilion was opened in 1953. There is also a museum where you can learn about the milestones of her business journey. For IKEA, heritage is an integral part of success corporate culture and business philosophy, which brought up more than one generation of managers and ordinary workers.
Researchers argue that teams and companies driven by a great idea are more productive, even if they final goal- earn money. IKEA was initially guided by the high idea contained in the slogan " Better life for many". Ingvar Kamprad wanted people all over the world to be able to buy beautiful furniture and interior items, and this desire turned into a mission. British magazine Icon wrote: "If it weren't for IKEA, modern home design would be out of reach for most people." And Icon called Kamprad himself “the person who had the most strong influence to consumer tastes.
The continued existence of IKEA is not cloudless: an aging population developed countries does not feel due enthusiasm for the “simple and modern” design, rivals with similar products are actively moving on the market: Italian Argos, Danish Ilva. In addition, the traditional trade is threatened by the boom in online shopping. However, IKEA is not afraid of this: its stores offer the buyer irreplaceable visual and tactile sensations and real pleasure from pastime. IKEA counters the rest of the "threats" with an unprecedented emotional response in the hearts of millions of customers around the world....
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