MARKETING STRATEGY – ASSIGNMENT 8
Roll No.: 20BM63044
1. What issues is Mr. Loof trying to resolve?
Mr. Loof is mostly concerned about Inter Ikea's declining revenues and lack of product
innovation. He was given the responsibility of maintaining Inter Ikea's sales growth while
also being inventive with their product offers. However, he is a freshly appointed CEO,
therefore this is a problem.
He recognises that the culture he was attempting to establish was in direct opposition to Inter
Ikea's established practises. He is unable to communicate his vision to his staff since they do
not have the same cultural background. He's afraid that his subordinates won't completely get
his vision and won't be persuaded to see things his way, but he's done all he could think of.
He put himself in the position of another employee and realised that the things he wanted to
do for Inter Ikea were counter-cultural.
Finally, the progressive decline of IKEA's founder, Mr. Ingvar Kamprad, and his final death
left a gap in the company, with Mr. Loof reflecting on the founder's good counsel.
All of the aforementioned concerns have combined to produce what Mr. Loof refers to as a
"perfect storm," which he is attempting to fix.
2. How can internal marketing help Mr Loof in solving these issues?
Mr. Torbjorn Loof has begun the "largest makeover IKEA has ever through," altering the
company's decade-old business strategy in order to battle decreasing revenues and the
increasing challenges of internet shopping and urbanisation. This comes at a time when the
new retail landscape is rife with uncertainty, and the firm doesn't have all the answers. Mr.
Loof also recognises that defying the established status quo would be difficult. That is why,
in order for this transition to be effective, constructive support from inside the company is
required.
Internal marketing will aid Mr Loof in persuading internal stakeholders to make the
necessary adjustments. Changes such as innovation are difficult to understand, and this must
be properly communicated to the company's internal stakeholders. Anything is impossible for
Mr Loof to do without the assistance and support of his staff, and without their belief in Mr
Loof's vision.
Internal marketing can assist Mr. Loof in persuading others that this is what the firm should
have done and will continue to do in the coming years. They should set long-term objectives
and make plans to achieve them. To persuade these folks to believe, you must persuade them
thoroughly and successfully.
Mr. Loof would be able to express the "why" aspect of the transition – which he wants to
communicate to the company - through internal marketing. He already recognises that Ikea's
operations were not initially focused on the "why" aspect of their operations - "why" are they
doing what they are doing. It utilised to behave without clear communication of the
company's goals down the chain of command.
3. Why doesn’t Mr Loof mind making mistakes?
Mr Loof believes that changing a firm's successful status quo is difficult since the company
does not know all of the answers to every difficulty or dilemma they may face, especially
when they are just getting started. He stated why he has to do these things and why methods
need be modified in order for IKEA to develop in order to tackle these challenges of
innovation and learning through trial and error.
Mr. Loof recognises that IKEA's continuous expansion over a decade has stifled their
innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, which he feels was one of the company's distinguishing
characteristics in its early days. He wants to reintroduce this attitude in order to propel the
company forward in the future.
With IKEA's sales suddenly declining, Mr. Loof sees the company's old business model
undergoing a significant shift. The company is now attempting to establish itself in city-
center shops, internet purchasing, home delivery, and assembly.
According to my understanding, there are three primary reasons why Mr. Loof doesn't mind
making mistakes:
The impact of IKEA founder Mr. Ingvar Kamprad, who enjoyed dealing with crises
and resolving them since he felt these were chances to be more creative
Because of the uncertainties surrounding the new retail landscape, the company is
attempting to disrupt the existing quo and reclaim its position in the furniture industry.
To do so, they had to experiment with things like expanding into the phygital realm
and employing augmented reality applications for their consumers' advantage
Learnings from mistakes made as a consequence of bold experimentation are used to
restructure the firm strategy and make it more robust. Mr. Loof, for example, tested a
novel store model in remote locations such as the Canary Islands, where it was a
success, but the same style failed to gain traction elsewhere. This highlighted the
necessity for various store sizes in various locations, each with the majority of items
but far less inventory than a typical warehouse
