Business Environment for IKEA UK Research Paper

Business Environment for IKEA UK - Research Paper Example The product is packed flat for easy assembly at home by the customer. IKEA began in 1943 in a small farming village in Sweden. Ingvar Kamprad started the business at age 17 and used his own initials plus the first letters of Elmtyrid and Agunnaryd, the farm and village where he grew up, to create the name IKEA. Although it didn't start out as a furniture company, furniture became the focus of the business in the 1950s when IKEA turned its problems into opportunities (About IKEA: Timeline) by: The IKEA group has 90,000 co-workers and operates in 44 countries, and the unique focus of IKEA UK continues to be on its customers, offering eye-appealing furniture design and keeping prices low by finding ways to shorten the route from manufacture to customer without detriment to the quality and ease of assembly for the buyer (About IKEA: in the world). A SWOT analysis of the organisation shows internal and external factors which affect its overall identity in the global marketplace. According to Wikipedia, Albert Humphrey developed the SWOT analysis in a research project for Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s. It evaluates strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in an organisation-the first two internal, the second two external. IKEA's major strengths are brand recognition, customer communication and staff satisfaction. One of the most difStrengths: Brand Recognition One of the most difficult selling points to establish in an organisation is positive brand recognition. Over time, IKEA UK has managed to do this by not compromising on its promise to its customers to maintain brand quality, easy construction and low prices. In addition, the packaging of the various components is personalised by simplifying instructions (the need for the customer to buy an electrical cord for a lighting product is shown by a simple sketch of the cord on the package) and creating a connection between the customer and the company by giving the product a unique name and printing the designer's name on the package. The personal touch establishes the brand and makes the customer feel a special bond. An additional benefit for the customer is the ability to design a complete room and to be given a copy of the plan if the purchase will be made at a later time. Strengths: Customer Communication Good leadership creates good business practices. Never has this been more evident than with the IKEA group. The organisation started its first store in the United Kingdom in 1987, and as it expanded, customer satisfaction was key. Convenient IKEA distribution centres in different sections of the UK offer customers the opportunity to go directly to the warehouse and centre and pick up materials after utilising the IKEA OnlineWeb site to design and order whole rooms of furniture (Investor). By encouraging the "IKEA Way," the company has established its unique methods-according to CEO Peter Hogsted, "we do 50-you do 50" (Lewis, par. 20). Another area of customer relations is recognizing concern for the environment, and IKEA was the first to suggest reuseable