An acronym consisting of the initials of the founder Ingvar Kamprad and his boyhood home of Elmtaryd, and Agunnaryd, IKEA, began its operation in Sweden in 1943 and continues its original ethos based upon cost obsession fused with design culture. Initially, IKEA is a mail-order business selling pencils, postcards, and furniture merchandise. Only on 1955, IKEA started to design its own furniture and over time, flat pack and self-assembly become part of the concept. As of 2013, it was the world’s most successful mass-market seller selling Scandinavian-style home furnishings and other housing goods in 345 stores in 42 countries with retail sales of EURO 29.2 billion. IKEA states “No design, no matter how inspired, finds its way into the catalogue
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The process includes stages with specific milestones where evaluation and funding is often requested to support the following stages of development (Servo 2008). IKEA has experienced several significant milestones since its establishment, which are important for the firm’s maturation. One of the important milestones in IKEA’s early history was the opening of its first IKEA showroom in Älmhult in 1953 (Inter IKEA Group 2012). Competition with other companies which causes lower price but risk of lower quality lead to this decision. IKEA’s showroom successful in presenting its product in term of its fuctions, quality and low price to the clients who just had to select them according to their needs before ordering …show more content…
Ingvar’s decision to open a big furniture store in a small village that initially creating a skeptical argument, turns out to be successful when customers are prepared to travel long distances to visit the store. In the same years, IKEA hit another milestones when it began designing its own furniture, evoked by pressure from competitors that caused suppliers to boycott IKEA. This became the basis for future growth, leading the company to innovative design and improved function at lower prices. Furthermore, as we can read on the company’s website: “by lucky inspiration, one early IKEA employee decided to remove a table’s legs so it would fit into a car, and to avoid transport damage. From that point on, we began to think in terms of design for flat packaging”. That is how IKEA began to turn problems into opportunities, what we see as the key for its success and the heart of its innovation
The process includes stages with specific milestones where evaluation and funding is often requested to support the following stages of development (Servo 2008). IKEA has experienced several significant milestones since its establishment, which are important for the firm’s maturation. One of the important milestones in IKEA’s early history was the opening of its first IKEA showroom in Älmhult in 1953 (Inter IKEA Group 2012). Competition with other companies which causes lower price but risk of lower quality lead to this decision. IKEA’s showroom successful in presenting its product in term of its fuctions, quality and low price to the clients who just had to select them according to their needs before ordering …show more content…
Ingvar’s decision to open a big furniture store in a small village that initially creating a skeptical argument, turns out to be successful when customers are prepared to travel long distances to visit the store. In the same years, IKEA hit another milestones when it began designing its own furniture, evoked by pressure from competitors that caused suppliers to boycott IKEA. This became the basis for future growth, leading the company to innovative design and improved function at lower prices. Furthermore, as we can read on the company’s website: “by lucky inspiration, one early IKEA employee decided to remove a table’s legs so it would fit into a car, and to avoid transport damage. From that point on, we began to think in terms of design for flat packaging”. That is how IKEA began to turn problems into opportunities, what we see as the key for its success and the heart of its innovation