IKEA IN INDIA

Business Reading

Under the guidance of -

Dr. Anjali Rai
Dr. Reenu
Submitted by-
Yash Juneja
BM-018366
Section-F
PGDM 2018-2020

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 INDEX

S.no Particulars Page No.

1. Article 1 3
2. Article 2 4
3. Article 3 4
4. Article 4 5
5. Article 5 6
6. Article 6 7
7. Article 7 8
8. Article 8 9
9. Abstract 1 10
10. Abstract 2 11

2
Article-1

3
Article-2

Article-3

4
Article-4

5
Article-5

6
Article-6

7
Article-7

8
Article-8

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Abstract-1

IKEA started in 1943 as a one-man mail order company in a small farming village in the
southern part of Sweden called Småland. The founder, Ingvar Kamprad. only a 17- year-old
boy at the time, initially arranged for the local county milk van to transport the goods to the
nearby train station. Today the IKEA Group has 70,000 co-workers and a turnover of over 11
billion euros (close to $11 billion).

The IKEA concept started in the 1950s with catalogue marketing combined with a showroom
where customers could see and touch IKEA products. The company's three distinct features
were function, quality, and low price. Problems with suppliers led the company to start
purchasing from foreign producers in Eastern Europe. During the 1960s the concept was
taken even further by introducing the warehouse principle. A huge store in Stockholm was
opened where customers picked the products from the shelves themselves. IKEA turned a
capacity problem into a new way of delivering products to customers, which is now a
cornerstone in the IKEA way of doing business.

The first attempt to go abroad was made in 1963 in nearby Norway, outside Oslo. IKEA took
the lead in using nontraditional materials for furniture, like plastics, that made IKEA design
well-known worldwide. The company also targeted younger families. It moved to the U.S. in
the mid-1980s and has been targeting Eastern and Central Europe since the 1990s. Today
IKEA has over 150 stores in more than 20 countries.

CEO Anders Dahlvig started his career at IKEA in 1984, after an undergraduate degree in
business administration at Lund University in Sweden and a master's degree in economics
from the University of California. He has held various positions in Sweden and abroad
including Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and the UK. He started off as a controller and
advanced to store manager, country manager, deputy retail manager for Europe and, since
1999, CEO of the IKEA Group.

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Abstract-2
Not much attention has been devoted to the relationship between service culture and service
strategy, including services marketing strategy. The assumption that service culture drives
service strategy has not been empirically examined. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a
better understanding of the strategic role that service culture and service strategy have for
business development in a long-term perspective. The empirical basis for our discussion
comes from IKEA, the largest retail furniture firm in the world. Our results clearly show the
importance of a strong and dynamic service culture for market and business success.

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 Conclusion
IKEA is a long established company which has maintained the IKEA Concept from its
original foundations. The IKEA Concept exists in every part of the company, from design,
sourcing, packing and distributing through to the IKEA business model. This case study has
shown how IKEA’s vision and mission and its strong values both contribute and drive the
development of its sustainable strategy with the overall aim of helping more people live a
better life at home. A business strategy is not simply about creating a competitive advantage,
but by having a clear vision of what it wants to achieve underpinned by strong values, means
that a company can still be a market leader but not compromise on its integrity as a business.
Good company culture, easily recognizable brand image and high brand quality are
responsible for the success of Ikea. In addition, the company’s creation of a value-based
business model has gone a long way in ensuring Ikea’s success. It provides economic value to
the customer due to its competitive price rates, and has then gone ahead and created
sustainable customer value-based service. In fact, Ikea not only considers itself a furniture
retailer, it also focuses on service provision to its customer base. This makes Ikea stand out
among its competitors and ensures its difference from other brands. This approach of
providing both products and excellent service experiences has made the business quite
successful.

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 Bibliography
1. Article-1 “From Almhult to Hyderabad, India changes IKEA”, From – The Hindu.
2. Article-2 “Electric vehicle to power IKEA deliveries”, From- The Hindu.
3. Article-3 “Ikea to open first indian store in Hyderabad on Aug 9”, From- The Times
of India.
4. Article-4 “Logistics, volume key challenges: IKEA CEO”, From- The Times of India.
5. Article-5 “IKEA is in india for the long haul: Global CEO”, From- The Times of
India.
6. Article-6 “Ikea’s a hit on opening day”, From- The Economic Times.
7. Article-7 “40k shoppers flood ikea store on debut”, From- The Economic Times.
8. Article-8 “Biyani ambushes ikea, splashes hometown Ads opposite store”, From- The
Economic Times.
9. Abstract-1 “IKEA CEO Anders Dahlvig on international growth and IKEA's unique
corporate culture and brand identity”, From- https://journals.aom.org
10. Abstract-2 “The IKEA Saga': How Service Culture Drives Service Strategy”, From-
https://www.tandfonline.com

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