Ikea or Mexico?

Ikea: India or Mexico?

Course #MT220 Section #01

Kaplan University

Mexico and India are two very different cultures and countries. “The average age for marriage was twenty-three for females and twenty-six for males.” (Mexico Con. Family, 2011). Mexican families aren’t so much geared towards the entire family living in the home, e.g., the in-laws, unmarried brothers and sisters. There is a movement away from some of the traditions and rituals towards more individually based unions. So this would be one good reason why IKEA should launch the product here.

Indian Family life consists off being married off while young and living with the entire family. The men are the head of the household and provide for the family while the women stay home and do the domestic work. Even though a small family could very have problems, imagine a family of 10-11 people. Problems are bound to arise. The IKEA green home is evidently fit for a small family with the measurements between 350-420 sq ft. It being complete with a bedroom, bath, kitchen and living room; a larger unit option would have an infant room or small extra bedroom, would not fit a traditional Indian family of 10-11 people.

According to Globaledge.org, Mexico’s population is 111,211,789. India’s population is a whopping 1,156,897,766. That is definitely a huge difference. But that makes no difference if India’s average income per month is 3,000 rupees, which translates to $57.54. The IKEA green homes start out at $4,000, so for a family that is wealthy it would take a while for them to save up for it. According to Stanford.edu, unfortunately, many areas of northern India are currently experiencing violent social confrontations that would greatly weaken our ability to establish a basis for a successful business. That also plays a huge part in whether IKEA should launch their product there.

With over a quarter of the world's poor concentrated in India, poverty is...