IKEA
Everything you need for the home.
IKEA to some consumers is a day long trip of discovering the best and most beautiful combinations of eclectic living room furniture. To most consumers, it is the experience that has everything they need for their home. I first encountered an IKEA when I went home for a long weekend Freshman year. My friend and I met at IKEA to shop for her dorm room. This being my first time, she wanted to make sure I saw every incredible product offered.
I remember being amazed at the attention to detail in each room and how you felt it was in an actual house. When we finally made it to the end of the journey, we came to what looked like the warehouse section. Every product from the showrooms was here along with variations of each as well. The product was standard and not biased according to market trends or fads within home. This is when I chose to be an IKEA fanatic, along with everyone else in the world.
I remember being amazed at the attention to detail in each room and how you felt it was in an actual house. When we finally made it to the end of the journey, we came to what looked like the warehouse section. Every product from the showrooms was here along with variations of each as well. The product was standard and not biased according to market trends or fads within home. This is when I chose to be an IKEA fanatic, along with everyone else in the world.
It seems a little puzzling that there is only 315 locations worldwide (Anderson). Yet, the popularity of this brand persists across the globe. A contributing factor to this company’s success is the customization of each customer’s home from over 9,000 products available. Bill Moggridge, the director of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in New York, calls IKEA’s aesthetic “global functional minimalism.” He said, “It’s modernist, and it’s very neutral in order to avoid local preferences, to get the economies of scale they need in order to keep the prices good” (Collins). For example, while IKEA’s locations in China sell products such as chop sticks, mosquito nets, and water fountains tailoring to the Chinese clientele, ninety-five percent of the product is standard and can be found at any IKEA.
Although ninety-five percent of the product is standard for every location, the combination of possibilities within a home using IKEA products is an interior designer’s heaven. Customers may initially go to IKEA looking for a specific product, but upon discovering the product assortment available to create their own home, customers return for this personalized and creative experience.