To Create a Better Everyday Life for the Many People

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To Create a Better Everyday Life for the Many People

ÒOnce upon a time, a long, long time ago we decided that, instead of making

furniture for people with fat wallets, we would side with the majority of people

instead and offer them a better everyday life. We decided to offer a wide range

of home furnishing items of good design and function, at prices so low the

majority of people could afford to buy them.Ó Ingvar Kamprad.

Many successful businesses stem from one simple good idea. Someone with

a bit more vision than average spots a gap in the market. He or she notices that

existing producers are failing to provide the benefits that consumers are really

looking for.

This case study focuses on a particularly successful business idea which

resulted in the foundation of IKEA, one of the largest home furnishing

companies in the world. It examines IKEAÕs vision/mission statements

and considers how consumer needs can be met.

In many ways, IKEA was a forerunner in pioneering concepts which are

becoming increasingly important in modern business. These include:

q ethical business practice

q

providing a fair deal for and being led by consumer needs

q

empowering employees, so that they feel a part of the company

q

responsibility to the community in which the company operates and to

the wider community.

Starting out

IKEA started in Sweden over 50 years

ago with one manÕs vision. Ingvar

Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, asked

the questions:

q ÒWhy are nice homes only

possible for people with a lot of

money?Ó

q

ÒWhy shouldnÕt everybody be

able to afford a nice, functional

home?Ó

q

ÒWhy does furniture have to be

so expensive?Ó

q

ÒWhy is there no one offering a

wide range of home furnishing

articles of good form and function

at prices so low that the many

people can afford them?Ó

Ingvar Kamprad wanted to help create

a better everyday life for the people in

the area of Sweden where he lived. He

was brought up...