Social cultural: IKEA fake store in China
A FAKE IKEA store thought that it would be safe hiding in an isolated southern district in southwest China, but like its counterpart, the fake Apple store, it was unveiled.
Situated in Kunming City, the store, known as 11 furniture, copies the Swedish furniture giant's signature blue and yellow color scheme, signage, mock-up rooms, its rocking chair design, and its playground for children.
On digitaljournal.com, lifestyle specialist Lynn Herrmann said: "No longer content with just copying name-brand handbags or athletic shoes, counterfeiters in China are now ripping off an entire retail scheme, a scheme some leading companies have spent millions of dollars in creating. This scheme often leads to customer loyalty, with product quality the underlying factor for the loyalty". This seems to be true, because as on theepochtime.com, Chinese customers have positive attitude towards this replication "This shows that Chinese people are very good at learning". There is no sign that there is a suit between IKEA and this company, when in my opinion, IKEA will not be able to expand in China in general and in Kunming in particular, because it's losing customers base right now.
Sources:
http://digitaljournal.com/article/309827
http://blog.theepochtimes.com/1/china/2011/08/01/fake-ikea-store-turns-up-in-china/
Social culture: Consumers like buying "assembly required" products
" Why do shopper wait in long lines to buy stuff that needs assembly? Recent research from Harvard Business School's Michael I. Norton and colleagues Daniel Mochon (University of California at San Diego), and Dan Ariely (Duke) may hold the key. Their data also helps explain the reason behind several common organizational downfalls."
In the researchers' paper The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love, the message is clear. Consumers value things more when their own effort is required to build them. There is enjoyment in showing off our "creations" to others. Even if a person does a crummy job putting it together, he values products that he assembles more than those he doesn't. This trend helps IKEA not only save money but also help them to draw more consumers, because everyone is excited to assemble their own stuffs with detailed instruction and little effort.
Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-31551436/ikea-effect-why-consumers-buy-assembly-required-products/
In the researchers' paper The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love, the message is clear. Consumers value things more when their own effort is required to build them. There is enjoyment in showing off our "creations" to others. Even if a person does a crummy job putting it together, he values products that he assembles more than those he doesn't. This trend helps IKEA not only save money but also help them to draw more consumers, because everyone is excited to assemble their own stuffs with detailed instruction and little effort.
Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-31551436/ikea-effect-why-consumers-buy-assembly-required-products/
Social culture: People are going green
According to the article below, one of the driving factors why people are going green began with the first signs of changes in climate. Nearly 60% of people who pick up a newspaper and magazine find themselves reading a green article. And over 30% of consumers go into stores and realize that they are now buying more green products. This change in people living trend is definitely an advantage for IKEA. IKEA is known as an eco-friendly brand by series of changes for the environment like using brown cardboard, moving towards powering all of its stores by renewable energy,....; yet still keep the reasonable price tag. The green trend is spreading worldwide, and IKEA is becoming the destination for all people who care about the budget green furniture.
Sources:
http://www.ecoevaluator.com/lifestyle/green-basics/green-awareness-is-increasing.html
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/behind_the_label/1098324/behind_the_brand_ikea.html
Sources:
http://www.ecoevaluator.com/lifestyle/green-basics/green-awareness-is-increasing.html
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/behind_the_label/1098324/behind_the_brand_ikea.html
Economic: Swiss economy shrinks under euro crisis pressure
The Swiss economy successfully bucked the difficult trend in euro zone for a long time. But the slight contraction in the second quarter shoes that the Swiss economy cannot completely decouple itself - the linkages within Europe are too great. As IKEA headquarter is in Switzerland, IKEA sale in its home country has decreased, and that may affect IKEA chain worldwide as well.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/us-swiss-economy-gdp-idUSBRE8830DD20120904
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/us-swiss-economy-gdp-idUSBRE8830DD20120904
Political: Thailand tighten foreign ownership laws
This factor affect IKEA in a negative way. Basically, Thailand’s new foreign ownership law is to make sure that in every Thailand businesses, foreign control must be less than 50%. Because IKEA is a franchiser company ( it don’t really own the company but they own most of the share to gain control over the company), investing in expanding in Thailand is not ideal for IKEA. Losing control in their own investment, IKEA should be aware that they also no longer control capital flow, choosing suppliers and materials,...
Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2816253/Ikea-delays-Thai-plans-as-government-moves-to-tighten-foreign-ownership-laws.html
Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2816253/Ikea-delays-Thai-plans-as-government-moves-to-tighten-foreign-ownership-laws.html