xi. Unique features about the product /services/business concept that makes it outstanding.
xii. Key Factors contributing to the success of the business.
IKEA’s furniture is ‘value for money’ with a wide range of choice. It is usually designed to be stored and sold as a ‘flat pack’ but it is capable of easy assembly by the customer. The stores are all designed around the same self-service concept – that finding the store, parking, moving through the store itself, ordering and picking up goods should be simple, smooth and problem-free. At the entrance to each store are large notice-boards which proclaim IKEA’s philosophy and provide advice to shoppers who have not used the store previously. Catalogues are available at this point showing illustrations, dimensions and the available range of the store’s products. For shoppers with young children, there is a supervised children’s play area, a small cinema, a parent and baby room and toilets, so parents can leave their children in the supervised play area for a time. Each child is attired in a yellow numbered top while in this area and parents are recalled via the loudspeaker system if any problems arise with the child. Alternatively customers may also borrow pushchairs to allow them to take their children around the store.
Some parts of the showroom are set out in ‘room settings’ while others show, for example, all beds together, so that customers can make comparisons. The IKEA philosophy is not to ‘hassle’ customers but rather allow them to make up their minds in their own time. If a customer does require advice, there are information points around the showroom where staff, in bright red uniforms, can provide help and guidance, provide measuring rules, paper for sketching and so on. Every piece of furniture carries a ticket which indicates its dimensions, price, materials used, country of origin and other colours in which it is available. It also has a code number which indicates the location in the warehouse from where it can be collected. The tickets on larger items request customers to go to the information desks for assistance. The excellent Informations Systems allows customers to check if the particular item is in stock before progressing the warehouse. After viewing the showroom, customers pass into the ‘self-service’ area where smaller items are displayed on shelves. These can be picked directly off the display shelves by customers and put into yellow shoulder bags or trolleys. Customers then pass through the self-service warehouse where they pick up the items they viewed in the showroom. Finally, customers pay at the checkouts, each of which is constructed with a ramped conveyor belt which moves the customer’s purchases up to the checkout staff. At the exit area there are information and service points and often a ‘Swedish shop’ with Swedish footstuffs. A large loading area allows customers to bring their cars from the car park to load their purchases. Customers may also rent or buy a roof rack.
The childcare facility and IKEA restaurant with unique Scandinavian cuisines create comfortable shopping environment. Many stores include restaurants serving traditional Swedish food, including potatoes with Swedish meatballs, cream sauce and lingonberry jam, although there are variations. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the usual boiled potatoes have been switched to french fries. IKEA’s total product range consisted of around 10,000 different products, several product lines including living room, bedroom, kitchen, office and several household items. IKEA’s product/Matrix mix offered limited number of product styles (Scandinavian, modern, country and young Swede) in low, medium and high price range for every product line with limited variety of products.
