Strategy Management
1. Introduction
1.1 Background & Timeline
IKEA was created in1943, Sweden, which has owned 292 large retail stores in 36 different countries and regions till the end of 2008. Most of them are in the Europe, and China is a potentially primary market target.
During IKEA’s history, there were some major events important. Here is the timeline of this company: * 1943 Ingvar Kamprad created IKEA * 1947 it was the first time that furniture appeared in IKEA * 1953 IKEA’s furniture showroom opened in Almhult * 1955 IKEA began to design furniture * 1956 IKEA began to use flat packing * 1958 IKEA opened the 1st shopping centre in Almhult which was the largest one in Northern Europe * 1963 the first IKEA shopping centre outside Sweden opened in Norway * 1973 the first IKEA shopping centre outside Northern Europe opened in Switzerland * 1975 the first IKEA shopping centre outside Europe opened in Australia * 1997 the children areas appeared in IKEA * 1998 the first IKEA shopping centre in Asia opened in China * 2001 IKEA Rail began to run * 2003 IKEA became the largest furniture retailer among the world * 2005 IKEA ranked 42 on the World’s Best Brand List
1.2 Oversee
Creating more beautiful lives for most people is the aim that IKEA has been striving from the beginning, and this company always offers a wide range of beautiful and practical items with relatively lower prices. Nowadays, IKEA has been the largest furniture household businesses, providing sofa and chair, office supplies, bedroom series, children’s goods, kitchen series, lighting and so on, which are about 10,000 products. What’s more, there are above 12,000 items in its product catalogues and the amount of this kind of brochures is up to one hundred million among the world a year. Therefore, it is necessary to look into IKEA’s strategies and analyse its successes and difficulties. This report will
1.1 Background & Timeline
IKEA was created in1943, Sweden, which has owned 292 large retail stores in 36 different countries and regions till the end of 2008. Most of them are in the Europe, and China is a potentially primary market target.
During IKEA’s history, there were some major events important. Here is the timeline of this company: * 1943 Ingvar Kamprad created IKEA * 1947 it was the first time that furniture appeared in IKEA * 1953 IKEA’s furniture showroom opened in Almhult * 1955 IKEA began to design furniture * 1956 IKEA began to use flat packing * 1958 IKEA opened the 1st shopping centre in Almhult which was the largest one in Northern Europe * 1963 the first IKEA shopping centre outside Sweden opened in Norway * 1973 the first IKEA shopping centre outside Northern Europe opened in Switzerland * 1975 the first IKEA shopping centre outside Europe opened in Australia * 1997 the children areas appeared in IKEA * 1998 the first IKEA shopping centre in Asia opened in China * 2001 IKEA Rail began to run * 2003 IKEA became the largest furniture retailer among the world * 2005 IKEA ranked 42 on the World’s Best Brand List
1.2 Oversee
Creating more beautiful lives for most people is the aim that IKEA has been striving from the beginning, and this company always offers a wide range of beautiful and practical items with relatively lower prices. Nowadays, IKEA has been the largest furniture household businesses, providing sofa and chair, office supplies, bedroom series, children’s goods, kitchen series, lighting and so on, which are about 10,000 products. What’s more, there are above 12,000 items in its product catalogues and the amount of this kind of brochures is up to one hundred million among the world a year. Therefore, it is necessary to look into IKEA’s strategies and analyse its successes and difficulties. This report will