On January 28th, the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, died. Even the Chinese on the other side of the earth can still feel strong sorrow. The last time the entrepreneur who caused such warm tribute to people around the world should be Apple ’s founder Jobs.
Why does a company selling furniture make people miss it so much? Why is Kamprad known as "one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century"?
1. What kind of company is IKEA?
Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA at the age of 17. At first, he only sold some household items such as small photo frames. Later, he gradually expanded the category to multiple categories such as furniture. There are currently more than 350 stores worldwide in 29 countries and regions including Europe, North America, and Asia. The mall has more than 9.3 million visits and 149,000 employees. The total retail sales in FY2017 was approximately 267.6 billion yuan.
Therefore, many people regard IKEA as the world's largest home furnishing retailer. But does IKEA only sell furniture?
Obviously not.
IKEA also opens a restaurant. In recent years, the revenue of IKEA restaurants has maintained a good growth momentum. In 2013 and 2014, the growth rate was once more than double the total revenue growth rate. Since 2015, food sales have increased by about 8%, while in China this proportion has reached 10%. According to the latest financial report, in 2017, IKEA's sales in China exceeded 13.2 billion yuan. According to this ratio, IKEA's restaurant turnover is about 1.3 billion, which is almost equivalent to the domestic revenue of Xijiade Dumplings for one year.
There is no doubt that this restaurant, which relies on Swiss meatballs, salmon and ice cream "three treasures", has become a non-negligible restaurant industry.
IKEA is also a technology company. It opened a smart home store called SPACE 10 in Copenhagen in 2015. It has a dining table that can be wirelessly charged, murals that detect water consumption at home, and so on.
And IKEA also put forward bold ideas such as the concept kitchen in 2025.
IKEA is also a brand. Unlike other furniture retailers, except for a few food items, IKEA only sells its own branded goods. IKEA's product line includes 9,500 different products, but considering the small differences in power plugs and other elements in various countries, the total number of varieties is about 50,000.
Of course, IKEA is still a design company, and it has a cross-border alliance with a series of companies such as Apple and NASA.
It seems difficult to define what industry IKEA belongs to. It attacks everywhere, and it seems to have no boundaries.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Kos once raised the issue of enterprise boundaries in the article "The Nature of the Enterprise". He believes that when an enterprise expands, it cannot lead to the best use of production factors.
But obviously, this is the way of thinking in the industrial age. Because the enterprise at this time requires professionalism and scale. But the Internet era is different. With the development of technology, the business boundaries of enterprises have become more and more blurred in the Internet era.
Alibaba e-commerce started, but it is no longer just an e-commerce company.
Tencent started socially, and games became its biggest source of income.
The representative species of the new retail "Hema Xiansheng" looks like a fresh supermarket, but it also contains a restaurant.
Last year, Meituan Dianping CEO Wang Xing's thinking about the border in Caijing magazine was impressive.
He said, "Most people care about the boundary, not the core." For many traditional enterprises, they basically start to grow from the vertical and continue to expand. But it is often limited by industry thinking.
But the Internet has broken the boundaries of these industries and regions. But top traditional companies have always been doing this, and as a result, they are rarely affected by new technologies such as the Internet.
Such as IKEA.
Why should IKEA think about the kitchen in the future ten years from now? Andreas Elagaard, the global general manager of the kitchen restaurant business, explained to Interface News, "We are ultimately concerned with how humans will live in the future."
Why did IKEA get involved in dining?
Because Kamprad believed that "hungry stomachs do not make good business," the first restaurant in the IKEA store was born. And now the number of customers who "go to IKEA for a meal and stop by" has already surpassed the number of people who "go to IKEA and have a meal"
Why did IKEA open a showroom in the store?
Because through the product catalog and introduction, customers cannot understand the quality of IKEA products. So Kamprad wanted to open a furniture showroom-customers can not only see the real thing, but also touch, sit and lie down.
Opening a showroom is not something a furniture retailer should do. This kind of problem is not his consideration.
There is also 7-Eleven. Many people think that 7-Eleven is just a global convenience chain. But as everyone knows, it also collects utility bills in Japan and has its own bank.
The traditional thinking is, why should a convenience store open a bank?
But in the view of founder Toshiyuki Suzuki, "If the store simply sells products and cannot provide the necessary services for the customer's life, then even if it has the geographical advantage, it cannot be called a convenient store . " Therefore, 7-Eleven not only provides some convenient products, but also constantly enriches and improves the content of "services".
Just because 7-Eleven found that customers had cash needs, they launched ATMs and opened their own banks.
Seventy years ago, Kamprad became the world's top home furnishing brand by questioning "Why do people pay so much attention to the production link, but perfunctory the link directly facing customers?"
Forty years ago, Minwen Suzuki built 7-Eleven into the world's largest convenience chain by relying on the concept of "our enemies are not peers, but changing customer needs".
In 2017, Wang Xing considered “I do n’t think we should set limits on ourselves, as long as the core is clear—who are they serving? What services do they provide?†, Meituan ’s comments look surging.
The business nature of users and customers as the center seems to have never changed.
2. "Good quality, low price"
In 1976, when IKEA was founded 30 years ago, Kamprad published "A Pledge of a Furniture Dealer". In this statement, he talked about nine concepts that shape IKEA's values, one of which is "profit brings resources".
What do you mean?
Kamprad believes that the purpose of enhancing economic strength is to lay the foundation for long-term success. What needs to be done for this is to "lower the price and improve the quality." It is not difficult to design a table with a cost of $ 1,000, but the great thing about IKEA is that it can design a beautiful and practical cost of only $ 50. table.
"Can all costs be lower?" Kamprad often asked the team.
As much as possible to save production costs and improve purchase efficiency, this is the secret of IKEA, the cornerstone of its success.
In 1940, IKEA launched a mail order business, which promised to keep prices low by reducing middlemen. Soon after, IKEA opened up a new continent in the field of "assemblable furniture". Household products use flat packaging, which is not only extremely convenient for transportation and storage, but also allows low-income people to afford all kinds of furniture.
IKEA once produced a BANG series cup, this cup only has four colors of white, blue, green and yellow, why is there no red? Because the cost of red is too high.
In the layout of shopping malls, IKEA places items as densely as possible, while some large items are concentrated in inventory, in order to maximize the use of space.
Why is IKEA so critical about costs?
Because Kamprad knew deeply that he wanted to serve most people in the world. What do these "most people" want? What I want is good products and services.
Although IKEA's things are cheap, they don't mean crude manufacturing. Instead, rely on all means such as reducing intermediate links and strengthening operation management to reduce costs, while products rely on advanced design and pleasant experience to allow consumers to obtain unexpected experiences.
In 1976, Costco, the largest chain member storage warehouse in the United States, was established. This company was born more than 20 years later than Wal-Mart, but now it has ranked second among global retailers. What are its characteristics? It is also the "lowest price to provide members with high-quality brand products", its products are cheaper than Wal-Mart, but higher quality.
In 2010, Lei Jun founded Xiaomi Technology. He repeatedly admitted that he was influenced by Costco. Therefore, the parity strategy of Xiaomi mobile phones completely overturned the traditional domestic mobile phone market in China and became the leader of the domestic mobile phone industry.
The other products under the Xiaomi ecological chain also adhere to the consistent "high quality and low price" strategy, which is unprecedented in the market.
What do they rely on?
On the one hand, reduce transaction links as much as possible, compress intermediate channels, thereby reducing costs; on the other hand, make every effort to ensure the quality and beauty of products.
If the asking price is too high, the price advantage will be lost, and if the asking price is too low, it will not be able to enhance its own strength. These companies, like IKEA, have found a balance.
So if we look back at the entire history of business development, the IKEA House, established in the 1940s, is still alive today because it has always adhered to some of the most essential characteristics of business.
The latecomers, however, insisted on these ideas and found a new field and way.
Therefore, even if new technologies emerge in endlessly, you will still see the shadow of IKEA in many new enterprises, and business is always connected.
Nothing in this world is new in nature, only the way it has changed.
According to relevant data, in 2016, IKEA's total sales exceeded 12.5 billion, an increase of 18.9% year-on-year. In the cold home market, IKEA has gradually increased with its steady and steady play, which has indeed allowed many domestic home furnishing stores to learn. With reference.
Taking the needs of the masses as the main starting point
In 1976, when IKEA was founded 30 years ago, the founder Ingvar Kamprad published the "Oath of a Furniture Dealer" and said: "The true IKEA spirit is based on our enthusiasm and our persistent spirit of innovation. Our cost consciousness, our responsibility and willingness to help others, our professionalism, and our succinct behavior make up. "" Creating a better daily life for the public "is the mission of IKEA. It does not start from the product, nor from the brand, but from the public. This starting point is better than others. In fact, IKEA also implements this concept from various aspects such as products and store layout. So many people think of visiting IKEA as a daily enjoyment of life, which is enough to prove how much IKEA has spent in this regard.
Unique business model can succeed
IKEA's retail model, especially the furniture retail model, distinguishes it from the competitive advantages of other brands, and provides a sufficiently extreme experience in its own unique business model. IKEA's business model in the furniture industry is a subversion. Although all models are not decisions at the same time, making every major decision point has been a great success.
For example, IKEA ’s obvious characteristics, such as large spaces and large categories, are really eye-opening to see all kinds of interesting and beautiful furniture. It is actually furniture that can be assembled, which is particularly attractive to young consumers. With self-selection, consumers have full freedom in it. There is no shopping guide and no monitoring. Consumers can completely relax themselves and enjoy this time. These decisions have formed a brand image that is completely different from the traditional furniture industry today. The precipitation of ten years is by no means simply imitated by the newly established company.
The mall is reasonably and efficiently arranged
In any IKEA store, every product display and space combination presented is a scene that is revealed through strong data analysis, as well as the experience of the store manager and the senior team, and localized research. From the door, there will be hallway heartbeat products that have been placed through countless tests. After you immediately enter the rhythm of "shut up! And take my money", there are about 50 models of various styles and pricing that impact your vision. Experience and wallet thickness. The purpose of the IKEA store is always to sell and sell! Let more tourists become customers, let customers buy more things.
After walking through the model room, to the single product area, your choice will no longer be vague and hesitant. You can choose one from tens of millions without effort, because the subdivided categories and pricing are enough for you to make every decision. Would be a wrong choice. In the IKEA mall, everyone enters the mall to do various equipment darkened on the ceiling, clearly recording the entire process of purchase. Your surprises, comparisons, hesitations, decisions, etc. are all in-depth analysis for IKEA in the future To make more effective and efficient sales data for shopping malls. The IKEA store will divide the whole mall into the hottest zone / hot zone / cold zone, and then make a more reasonable arrangement for IKEA's products. From the product matrix, IKEA selects enough products to be sold in the super hot zone to increase sales and profits; the hot zone is planned for conventional products and products with partial popularity according to the 28th principle; the cold zone uses a small part of the heartbeat Products to increase heat, etc.
Corporate vision, business model, product matrix and shopping mall layout, all of IKEA has a rigorous scientific analysis, the final decision is made, everything is designed around people and consumers, so consumers walk in IKEA, can Get a very good shopping experience. A very obvious feature of domestic stores is that everything starts from oneself, consumers are second, sometimes for their own benefit, at the expense of the consumer ’s shopping experience, and in the study of consumer purchase industry and habits, Analysis is not as important as IKEA. It is this difference in concept and starting point, that is, cheap homes have been in China for nearly two decades, and no Chinese version of IKEA has appeared. Traditional home stores rarely use IKEA to learn from their experience. However, in this era of transformation and survival, the successful IKEA model is indeed worthy of consideration.
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