IKEA ( , Swedish: Ã, [? Ã,²ke: a ] ) is a multinational group founded by Sweden, which designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture of ready-to-assemble furniture , kitchen utensils and home accessories. It has been the largest furniture retailer in the world since at least 2008. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, registered by Forbes in 2015 as one of the ten richest people in world, worth more than $ 40 billion. The company name is an acronym consisting of the initials of I ngvar K amprad (founder's name), E lmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and A gunnaryd (hometown of SmÃÆ'  ¥ land, southern Sweden).
The company is known for its modernist designs for various types of equipment and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with eco-friendly simplicity. In addition, the company is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and sustainable product development, a company attribute that allows IKEA to lower the average price of two to three percent over the decade to 2010 during the period of global expansion.. The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, allegedly by members of the European Parliament designed to avoid over EUR1 billion in tax payments over the 2009-2014 period. It is controlled by several foundations based in the Netherlands, and Liechtenstein.
As of November 2017, IKEA owns and operates 415 stores in 49 countries. In fiscal year 2016, goods valued at EUR36.4 billion were sold, a total representing a 7.6 percent increase over 2015. The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products and is the closest representation of the entire IKEA range. There are more than 2.1 billion visitors to the IKEA website in the year from September 2015 to August 2016. The company is responsible for about 1% of the world's commercial timber product consumption, making it one of the largest wood users in the retail sector.
Most of IKEA's stores and factories were previously owned by INGKA, the parent company controlled by the INGKA Stichting Foundation, one of the 40 richest foundations in the world.
Video IKEA
Histori
Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943 as a mail order sales business. It started selling furniture five years later. The first MÃÆ'¶bel-IKÃÆ'â € â„¢ A store opened in ÃÆ' â € žlmhult, SmÃÆ'  ¥ land, in 1958 (MÃÆ'¶bel means "furniture" in Swedish). The first stores outside Sweden were opened in Norway (1963) and Denmark (1969). The shops spread to other parts of Europe in the 1970s, with the first store outside the opening of Scandinavia in Switzerland (1973), followed by West Germany (1974).
In the midst of a high level of success, the West German company executives accidentally opened a shop in Konstanz in 1973 instead of Koblenz. Later that decade, stores opened in other parts of the world, such as Japan (1974), Australia, Canada, Hong Kong (1975), and Singapore (1978). IKEA grew in the 1980s, opening stores in countries such as France and Spain (1981), Belgium (1984), United States (1985), United Kingdom (1987), and Italy (1989). The company later grew to more countries in the 1990s and 2000s. Germany, with 53 stores, is IKEA's largest market, followed by the United States, with 48 stores. At the end of the 2009 financial year, the IKEA group operates 267 stores in 25 countries. The first IKEA store in Latin America opened on February 17, 2010 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Until July 2013, the presence of companies in developing countries is still minimal.
In December 2014, the world's largest IKEA store at 59,000 m 2 (635,070,7 sqÃ, ft), opened near Gwangmyeong KTX Station, located in the heart of Seoul's Seoul Capital Region. It opened the fourth largest store in the world (and the world's largest independent store) in Goyang, Gyeonggi in October 2017 at 52,199 square meters. IKEA plans to open two more such scale stores in the Seoul Capital Area, along with stores in Daejeon and Busan in 2020.
The largest store in the Southern Hemisphere is located in Tempe, Sydney, Australia with an area of ​​39,000 m 2 (420,000 sqÃ, ft). The largest store in North America is located in Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The store opened in 1986 in the Ville-St-Laurent area, and has been completely renovated and expanded in 2012-2013. Built in 1986, the store's initial area is 22,062m 2 (237,470 sq ft), while the renovated shop now measures 43,636 m 2 (469,690 sq ft).
In March 2013, IKEA opened its first outlet in Qatar, after a delay of several months. Like others in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Doha outlet is operated by Al-Futtaim Group. In August 2013, the first store in the Baltic Country opened in Vilnius Lithuania region. The 285,243Ã,² store building (26,000 m 2 ) started in 2011 and the store employs over 200 people. This is the best selling furniture mall in the Baltic countries.
In 2014, IKEA opened its first warehouse in Croatia, near Zagreb. The warehouse opened on 21 August 2014. Shopping malls in Zagreb with an area of ​​38,000m 2 (410,000 sqÃ, ft) are one of the five largest in Europe and among the top 10 largest IKEA stores in the world.
On March 26, 2015, a set of 19 storage buildings that housed various TV movies and props, owned by Western Studio Services, were dismantled for the greatest IKEA development in the United States. Located in Burbank, California, this store replaces Burbank's IKEA located less than a mile away from a new construction site, which is almost twice the size of an existing store (456,000 square feet). The existing store stopped operating on February 4, 2017, and a new store opening took place on February 8, 2017.
IKEA began building its first store in India on August 11, 2016. The 400,000 square foot store in Hyderabad is being built at a cost of INR 7 billion (US $ 100 million), and is scheduled to open in early 2018. IKEA purchased 610,000 square feet of land in Bengaluru, Karnataka next to Namma Metro station where the company plans to open their third store in India in the same year. The store in Bengaluru will become the largest IKEA in Asia. The company started construction of its second Indian shop in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra on May 18, 2017 and is scheduled to open in January 2019. IKEA plans to open 5 stores in the state of Maharashtra and also build a distribution center in Pune. As per Indian regulations, IKEA must have local sources of at least 30% of the products sold in Indian stores. The company plans to open 25 stores in 8 cities in the country by 2025. It predicts that Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore will become the company's largest market, while Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and small cities will also receive IKEA. On November 1, 2017 IKEA purchased 10 hectares of land in Gurugram to expand operations in North India.
On January 31, 2017, IKEA announced that it would open a new store in Latvia. This will be the second store opened in the Baltic countries. The store will be located near Riga and is due to open in August 2018.
On August 10, 2017, IKEA opened its first store in Serbia and the 400th store in its entirety. IKEA invested EUR70 million, and plans to open a second store in Belgrade in the future.
On November 16, 2017, IKEA opened its third store in Malaysia in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It is the largest store in Southeast Asia, covering 502,815 square feet.
On March 15, 2018, IKEA opened its second store in Thailand in Bangkok, Thailand. Today it is the largest store in Southeast Asia in front of Johor Bahru, Malaysia, with a total area of ​​50,278m 2 and 1900 car parking spaces. It's also the first store with cashiers installed on all floors.
IKEA was awarded the Nordic Language Award 2017 to introduce Scandinavian languages ​​and cultures to a global audience.
Founder Ingvar Kamprad died on January 27, 2018.
Maps IKEA
Shop design
Layout
The older IKEA stores are usually blue buildings with yellow accents (also Swedish national colors) and large towers. They are often designed in one-way layouts, leading customers counter-clockwise along what IKEA calls a "long natural way" designed to encourage customers to see the store as a whole (compared to traditional retail stores, allowing customers to go straight to the part where the desired goods and services are displayed). There are often shortcuts to other parts of the showroom. The newer IKEA stores, like those in MÃÆ'¶nchengladbach, Germany, use more glass, both for aesthetics and functionality. Skylights are also now common in self-service warehouses; natural lighting reduces energy costs, improves workers' morale and gives a better impression of the product.
The first sequence involves through the showroom furniture making note of the selected item. The customer then collects the shopping cart and proceeds to the "Warehouse Market" warehouse that opens for smaller items, then visits the self-service warehouse to collect the previously recorded showroom products in flat pack. Sometimes, they are directed to collect products from external warehouses on the same site or on nearby sites after purchase. Finally, customers pay for their products at the cash register.
Today, most stores follow the same layout as the upstairs showroom with market and supermarket warehouses downstairs. Some stores are one level, while others have separate warehouses to allow more stock to be stored on site. One-level shops are found primarily in areas where land costs will be less than the cost of building 2-level stores, such as Saarlouis, Germany and Haparanda, Sweden. Some stores have a dual-level warehouse with machine-controlled silos to allow large quantities of stock to be accessed throughout the day of sales.
Most IKEA stores offer an "as is" area at the end of the warehouse, just before the cash register. Replaced, damaged and previously displayed products are displayed here and sold at significant discounts, but also with a non-refundable policy. Most of the IKEA stores convey IKEA's policy on environmental issues in this section of the store. The area, which is painted red, is named after local custom, in the UK it is referred to as "Bargain Corner", in Sweden "FYND" (Bargains) and in Denmark, "Rodebutikken" (Rummage boutique).
IKEA uses a sales technique called "bulla bull" where many items are deliberately mixed in garbage, to create the impression of volume, and therefore, inexpensiveness.
The restaurant and food markets
IKEA's own restaurant exists all over the world and its taste is cross-cultural. Each store includes a restaurant serving traditional Swedish food, including potatoes with Swedish meatballs. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, boiled potatoes or regular mashed potatoes have been replaced with French fries; Meanwhile in Indonesia, Swedish meatball recipes are usually changed to accommodate the needs of Halal countries. In addition to this Swedish food, hot dogs and beverages are also sold, along with several varieties of local cuisine, and beverages such as lingonberry juice. Also items like prinsesstÃÆ' Â, rta (princess cake) are sold as desserts. Shops in Israel sell halal food with high-level rabbinic surveillance. Halal restaurants are separated into dairy and meat areas; falafel and non-dairy ice cream available at the exit. The IKEA stores in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates serve chicken shawarma in exit cafes as well as hot beef, while in the UK, Quorn hot dogs are available in the cafe out. Coffee, soft drinks and free tea refills, like in Sweden at the store location. All shops are equipped with Nordic fruit drinks since 2017, replacing Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
In many locations, the IKEA restaurant is open daily in front of other shops and serves a generous breakfast.
Each store also has a Swedish Food Market which, by 2011, sells Swedish branded specialties such as meatballs, sauce packages, lingonberry jam, biscuits and biscuits, and roe salmon and fish spread. Later, IKEA replaced most of the branded food and expanded its product range with the introduction of the IKEA food label. The new label has a variety of items including chocolate, meatballs, jams, pancakes, salmon, along with a variety of drinks. All food products are based on Swedish recipes and traditions.
SmÃÆ'  ¥ land
Each store has a children's play area, called SmÃÆ'  ¥ land (Sweden for small land, this is also the Swedish province where Kamprad was born). The parents lowered their children at the gates to the playground, and picked them up after they arrived at another entrance. In some stores, parents are given free pagers by on-site staff, which staff can use to call parents whose children need them earlier than expected; In others, the staff calls the parents through announcements via the public address system inside the store or by calling them on their mobile.
Alternate design
The majority of IKEA stores are located outside the city center, mainly due to land costs and traffic access. Some smaller store formats were not successfully tested in the past (the concept of "midi" in the early 90s, tested in Ottawa and Heerlen with 9,300 m 2 (100,000 sq ft), or " boutique "in Manhattan). A new format for a full-size downtown store was introduced with the opening of a Manchester (UK) store, located in Ashton-under-Lyne in 2006. Another store, in Coventry opened in December 2007. The store has seven floors and a different stream from the store Other IKEA. The IKEA Southampton store that opened in February 2009 is also in the city center and is built in an urban style similar to a Coventry store. IKEA built these stores in response to British government restrictions that hindered the establishment of retail out of the city center.
In Hong Kong, where store space is limited and expensive, IKEA has opened three outlets in the city, most of which have a one-way layout. They are part of the shopping center, and although small compared to the general store design, are very large by Hong Kong standards.
By 2015, IKEA announced that it will try a smaller store design in several locations across Canada. This modified store will only display a display gallery and a small warehouse. One planned location for Kitchener is in a place previously occupied by Sears Home store. The warehouse will not keep inventory of furniture, so customers will not be able to stop by to buy and leave furniture on the same day. Instead, they would buy furniture first online or in the store and order furniture delivered to one of the new stores, at a greatly reduced price. IKEA claims that this new model will allow them to rapidly evolve into new markets instead of spending years to open a full-size store.
Products and services
Furniture
Instead of being sold before assembling, many IKEA furniture is designed to be assembled by customers. The company claims that this helps reduce the cost and use of packaging by not sending air; volume of bookshelves, for example, much less if sent without assembly and not assembled. It's also more practical for customers who use public transportation, because flat packages can be more portable.
IKEA believes that it has become a pioneering force in a sustainable approach to mass consumer culture. Kamprad calls this "democratic design," which means that the company implements an integrated approach to manufacturing and design (see also environmental design). In response to the explosion of human population and material expectations in the 20th and 21st centuries, the company applied economies of scale, captured the flow of materials and created manufacturing processes that withstand the cost and use of resources, such as the extensive use of Medium-Density Fiberboard ("MDF"), also called "particle board." It is an engineered wood fiber that is glued under heat and pressure to create a building material with superior strength that is resistant to warp. IKEA uses MDF-level cabinets and MDF in all MDF products, such as PAX cabinets and kitchen cabinets. IKEA also uses wood, plastics, and other materials for furniture and other products. The desired result is a flexible and customizable home furniture that can be adapted for both homes and smaller residences and large homes.
Not all furniture is stocked at the store level, such as the color of a special sofa that needs to be sent from the warehouse to the customer's home (for shipping costs). The item can also be sent from the warehouse to the store. Some stores charge extra for this service, but not all.
Important items from IKEA furniture include Poonng chairs, Billy bookshelves and Klippan sofas, all of which have sold tens of millions since the late 1970s.
Product name
The IKEA product is identified by a single word name (rarely two words). Most of the names are from Scandinavia. Although there are some exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA. The founders of Kamprad's company suffered from dyslexia and found that naming furniture with the right names and words, instead of product codes, made the names more memorable.
- upholstered furniture, coffee table, rattan furniture, bookcase, media storage, door handle: Swedish place name (for example: Klippan)
- Bed, cupboard, hall furniture: Norwegian place name
- Dining and chairs: Finnish place name
- Book ranges: Jobs
- Bathroom articles: Scandinavian Lake, river, and bay
- Kitchen: grammatical term, sometimes also other names
- Chair, table: male name
- Fabrics, curtains: woman's name
- Garden furniture: Swedish Island
- Carpets: Name of place of Denmark
- Lighting: terms of music, chemistry, meteorology, size, weight, season, month, day, boat, nautical term
- Bedlinen, bed cover, pillow/cushion: flower, plant, precious stone
- Children's goods: mammals, birds, adjectives
- Curtain accessories: math and geometry terms
- Kitchen utensils: foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruit or berries, functional description
- Boxes, wall hangings, drawings and frames, hours: colloquial, as well as Swedish place names
For example, DUKTIG (meaning: smart, well behaved) is the child's toy line, OSLO is the name of the bed, BILLY (Swedish masculine name ) is a popular bookshelf, DINERA (meaning: (to) eat) for tableware, KASSETT (meaning: cassette) for media storage. One type of office furniture is named EFFEKTIV (meaning: efficient, effective), SKÃÆ' â € žRPT (meaning: sharp or smart) is a row of kitchen knives.
An important exception is the IVAR shelf system , which has been around since the early 1970s. This item is named after the item designer.
Some Swedish product names IKEA have a funny or unpleasant connotation in other languages, sometimes causing names to be withdrawn in certain countries. Notable examples for English include the computer desk "Jerker" (discontinued a few years ago in 2013), "Fukta" plant spray, "Fartfull" workbench, and "Lyckhem" (meaning happiness). Kitchen legs are called FACTUM (called AKURUM in the United States). The newest addition is the new outdoor suite "Askholmen". A similar error occurs with other multinational companies.
Smart house
In 2016 IKEA began to move into smart home business. The TRIA lighting device... DFRI is one of the first ranges to signify this change. The IKEA media team has confirmed that smart home projects will be a big step. They have also started a partnership with Philips Hue. Wireless charging furniture, integrating wireless Qi charging into everyday furniture, is another strategy for smart home business.
The collaboration to build Sonos smart speaker technology into furniture sold by IKEA was announced in December 2017. The first product resulting from the collaboration will be launched in 2019.
House and flat
IKEA also expanded its product base to include flat-pack houses and apartments, in an effort to cut prices involved in first-time home buyers. (This practice is nothing new: Eaton's retailers are out of business in the same way), the IKEA Product, named BoKlok was launched in Sweden in 1996 in a joint venture with Skanska. Now working in the Nordic countries and in the UK, sites are confirmed in the UK including London, Ashton-under-Lyne, Leeds, Gateshead, Warrington and Liverpool.
Solar PV System
At the end of September 2013, the company announced that its solar panel package, called "home kit", for homes will be sold at 17 stores in the UK by mid 2014. The decision follows a successful experimental project at IKEA Lakeside store, where one photovoltaic system is sold almost every day. The solar CIGS panel is manufactured by Solibro, a German-based subsidiary of Chinese company Hanergy. By the end of 2014, IKEA began selling Solibro solar dwelling devices in the Netherlands and in Switzerland.
In November 2015 IKEA terminated its contract with Hanergy and in April 2016 began working with Solarcentury
IKEA announced in April 2016 that he made a second attempt with SolarCity to sell solar panels in the UK. This allows users to be able to order online and start with three stores and by the end of summer is available in all UK stores.
More business
IKEA owns and operates the MEGA Family Shopping Center network in Russia.
On August 8, 2008, IKEA UK launched a virtual mobile phone network called IKEA Family Mobile, which runs on T-Mobile. At launch, this is the cheapest pay-as-you-go network in the UK. In June 2015, the network announced that its service would stop operating from August 31, 2015.
In 2012, IKEA is working with TCL to provide HDTV products and integrated entertainment systems from Uppleva.
In mid-August 2012, the company announced that it would build a chain of 100 economic hotels in Europe but, unlike some Scandinavian hotels, they would not carry the name of IKEA, nor would it use IKEA furniture and furnishings - they would be operated by hoteliers group unnamed international.
In September 2017, IKEA announced that it would acquire TaskRabbit based in San Francisco. The deal must be completed by the end of October 2017 and TaskRabbit will remain an independent company.
Company structure
IKEA is owned and operated by a variety of nonprofit and not-for-profit corporations. The structure of the company is divided into two main parts: operations and franchises.
IKEA Systems Ownership is very complicated and publicly unknown. Inter IKEA Systems is owned by Inter IKEA Holding, a registered company in Luxembourg. Inter IKEA Holding, in turn, is owned by Interogo Foundation, based in Liechtenstein. In 2016, INGKA Holding sells its design, manufacturing and logistics company to Inter IKEA Holding.
In June 2013, Ingvar Kamprad resigned from the Inter council of IKEA Holding SA and his youngest son Mathias Kamprad replacing Per Ludvigsson as chairman of the holding company. Following his decision to resign, the 87-year-old founder explained, "I see this as a good time for me to leave the Inter council of IKEA Group, so we are also taking another step in the generation shift that has been going on for several years. corporate restructuring in 2016, Inter IKEA Holding SA no longer exists. Mathias Kamprad is a member of the Inter council of IKEA Group and the Interogo Foundation. Mathias and his two older brothers, who also have leadership roles at IKEA, work on the company's overall vision and long-term strategy.
In Australia, IKEA is operated by two companies. The shops located on the East Coast include Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria owned by INGKA Holding. Shops elsewhere in the country including South Australia and Western Australia are owned by Cebas Pty Ltd. As elsewhere, all shops are operated under a franchise agreement with Inter IKEA Systems.
Control by Kamprad
Along with helping IKEA generate non-taxable profits, IKEA's complex corporate structure allows Kamprad to maintain tight control over INGKA Holding operations, and thus the operation of most IKEA stores. The five INGKA Foundation executive committees are chaired by Kamprad. It appoints the INGKA Holding board, approves any changes to INGKA Holding regulations, and has the right to precede the issue of new shares. If an executive committee member quits or dies, the other four members appoint a successor.
In the absence of Kamprad, the foundation's ordinance consists of special provisions requiring it to continue the operation of the INGKA Holding group and stipulate that the shares may be sold only to other foundations with the same purpose as the INGKA Foundation.
Financial information
The IKEA Group's net profit (which excludes the IKEA Inter system) in fiscal 2009 (after paying franchise fees to the IKEA Inter system) was EUR2.538 billion on sales of EUR21,846 billion. Because INGKA Holding is owned by INGKA nonprofit Foundation, none of these profits are taxed. The status of nonprofit foundations also means that Kamprad's family can not reap the profits directly, but Kampung does collect some of IKEA's sales profits through a franchise relationship between INGKA Holding and Inter IKEA Systems.
Inter IKEA Systems collected EUR631 million of franchise fees in 2004, but reported pre-tax profits of EUR225 million in 2004. One of the major pre-tax fees reported by the IKEA Inter system is EUR590 million of "other operating costs". IKEA refused to explain these allegations, but Inter IKEA Systems seem to make huge payouts for I.I. Holding, another group registered in Luxembourg which, according to The Economist, is almost certainly controlled by the Kamprad family. " I.I. Holding generated a profit of EUR328 million in 2004.
In 2004, the IKEA Inter group of companies and I.I. Holding reported a combined profit of EUR553m and paid EUR19m taxes, or about 3.5 percent. In 2013, media publishing Letters reported that IKEA Swedwood's subsidiary has grown between 20-30% per annum since its inception in 1991.
The Berne Declaration, a non-profit organization in Switzerland that promotes corporate responsibility, has officially criticized IKEA for its tax evasion strategy. In 2007, the Berne Declaration nominated IKEA for one of the "Public Eye Awards", which highlighted corporate irresponsibility and was announced during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In a company statement emailed on October 14, 2013, IKEA's full year sales rose 3.1 percent due to growth in Russia and China. IKEA's total revenue rose to US $ 37.9 billion (27.9 billion euros), with significant growth also recorded in North America.
In February 2016, the Green/EFA group in the European Parliament issued a report entitled IKEA: Avoidance of Flat Package Tax on the IKEA tax planning strategy and its possible use to avoid taxes in some European countries. The report was sent to Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, and Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, expressed hope that it would be useful to them in their respective roles "to advance the fight for justice tax in Europe. ". Sales jumped 17 percent to almost EUR132 million in the 12 months to the end of August 2015
Manufacturing
Although IKEA's household products and furniture are designed in Sweden, these products are mostly manufactured in developing countries to reduce costs. For most products, the final assembly is done by the end user (consumer).
Swedwood, a subsidiary of IKEA, handles the production of all wood-based products of the company, with the largest Swedwood factory located in Southern Poland. According to subsidiaries, more than 16,000 employees in 50 locations in 10 countries produce 100 million pieces of furniture sold by IKEA each year. IKEA furniture uses an alternative hardwood particle board. Hultsfred, a factory in southern Sweden, is the sole supplier of the company.
Labor Practices
During the 1980s, IKEA cut costs by using production facilities in East Germany. Some of the workforce in the factories is made up of political prisoners. This fact, revealed in a report by Ernst & amp; Young was assigned by the company, the result of the assimilation of criminals and political dissidents at the state-owned IKEA production facility contracted with a practice commonly known in West Germany. IKEA is one of a number of companies, including Western German companies, who benefited from this practice. Investigations resulting from attempts by former political prisoners to obtain compensation. In November 2012, IKEA admitted to realizing at the time of possible use of forced labor and failing to exercise sufficient control to identify and avoid it. Summary of Ernst & amp; Young's report was released on November 16, 2012.
IKEA was named one of the 100 Best Mother Works Companies in 2004 and 2005 by the Working Mothers magazine. It ranked 80th in Fortune 200 Best Companies to Work During 2006 and in October 2008, IKEA Canada LP was named one of "100 Best Canadian Entrepreneurs" by Mediacorp Canada Inc.
In 2012, IKEA in France was accused by independent newspaper Le Canard enchaÃÆ'®nÃÆ' Â © and the investigation site Mediapart spied on employees and clients by illegally accessing French police records. The chief of risk management at IKEA worries that its employees are anti-globalist or potential ecotericists.
Environmental performance
Following initial environmental issues such as formaldehyde scandals published in the early 1980s and 1992, IKEA takes a proactive stance on environmental issues and seeks to prevent future incidents through various measures. In 1990, IKEA invited Karl-Henrik RobÃÆ'¨rt, founder of Natural Step, to greet his board of directors. Robert's system condition for sustainability provides a strategic approach to improving the company's environmental performance. In 1990, IKEA adopted the Natural Step framework as the basis for its environmental plan. This led to the development of the Environmental Action Plan, adopted in 1992. The plan focuses on structural change, enabling IKEA to "maximize the impact of invested resources and reduce the energy needed to address isolated issues." Environmental measures taken include the following:
- Replace polyvinylchloride (PVC) on wallpaper, home textiles, shower curtains, lampshades, and furniture - PVC has been removed from the packaging and is being removed in the power cord;
- minimize the use of formaldehyde in its products, including textiles;
- removes the acid-producing lacquer;
- produces seat models (OGLA) made of 100% post-consumer plastic waste;
- introduces series of air blowing furniture products into the product line. Such products reduce the use of raw materials to frame and cram and reduce the weight and volume of transport by up to 15% of conventional furniture;
- reduce the use of chromium for metal surface treatment;
- limit the use of substances such as cadmium, lead, PCB, PCP, and Azo pigments;
- using wood from responsibly managed forests that replant and sustain biodiversity;
- use only recyclable materials for flat packaging and "pure" (unmixed) materials for packaging to assist in recycling.
- introduces rental bikes with trailers for customers in Denmark.
In 2000, IKEA introduced its code of ethics to suppliers, called the IKEA purchase method, abbreviated as IWAY. Today IWAY is a fully integrated part of the IKEA purchase model. IWAY covers social, safety, and environmental questions. Today IKEA has about 60 IWAY auditors who conduct hundreds of supplier audits every year. The main objective with IWAY is to ensure that IKEA suppliers follow the law in every country in which they are located. Most IKEA suppliers meet today's laws with the exception of some special issues, one of which is overworked in Asia, in countries like China and India.
Recently, IKEA has stopped providing plastic bags for customers, but offers reusable bags for sale. The IKEA restaurant also offers only plates, knives, forks, spoons, and others that can be reused. Toilets in some rooms IKEA WC equipped with two functions flusher. IKEA has a recycling bin for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), energy saving lamps, and batteries. In 2001, IKEA was one of the first companies to operate its own cross-border trains through several countries in Europe.
In August 2008, IKEA also announced that it has created IKEA GreenTech, a venture capital fund of EUR50 million. Located in Lund (the university city in Sweden), it will invest in 8-10 companies in the next five years focusing on solar panels, alternative light sources, product materials, energy efficiency and water saving and purification. The goal is to commercialize green technology for sale at IKEA stores within 3-4 years.
To make IKEA a more sustainable company, product life cycles have been created. For the idea stage, the product must be packed flat so that more goods can be delivered at once; products should also be easier to disassemble and recycle. Raw materials are used, and since wood and cotton are two of IKEA's most important manufacturing products, the company works with environmentally friendly forests and cotton, where excessive use of chemicals and water is avoided.
Manufacturing is the third in the life cycle and includes IWAY, the IKEA code of ethics for producers and suppliers formulating and enforcing requirements for working conditions, social and environmental standards, and what IKEA suppliers can expect in return. Marketing is another part of the IKEA life cycle and some of the papers used for catalogs are sourced from responsibly managed forests. Catalogs are also smaller, so less paper is needed, less waste is generated and more catalogs can be shipped per load.
The IKEA Store recycles waste and many use renewable energy with the use of lights and energy-saving sensors. All employees are trained in environmental and social responsibility, while public transport is one of the priorities when store locations are considered. Also, the coffee and chocolate served at the IKEA store is UTZ Certified.
The last stage of the life cycle is the end of life. Most IKEA stores recycle light bulbs and drained batteries, and the company is also exploring recycled sofas and other home furnishings. According to IKEA's 2012 "Sustainability Report", 23% of all timber used by the company complies with Forest Stewardship Council standards, and the report states that IKEA aims to multiply this percentage by 2017. The report also states that IKEA does not accept illegally harvested timber and supporting 13 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) projects.
On February 17, 2011, IKEA announced its plan to develop a wind farm in Dalarna County, Sweden, which advances its goal of using only renewable energy to run its operations. As of June 2012, 17 IKEA stores of the United States are powered by solar panels, with 22 additional installations underway, and IKEA has 165 MW Cameron Wind farm in Cameron County on the coast of South Texas and 42 MW of coastal agricultural winds in Finland.
In 2011, the company examined its timber consumption and noticed that nearly half of its global pine and cypress consumption was for palette manufacturing. The company consequently started the transition to the use of paper pallets and "Optiledge systems". OptiLedge products are completely recyclable, made from 100% high quality polypropylene polypropylene (PP). This system is an "alternate unit load for the use of pallets." The system consists of OptiLedge (usually in pairs), aligned and tied to the bottom of the carton to form a base layer to accumulate more products Corner boards are used when binding to minimize packet compression potential. "Repentions began in Germany and Japan, before being introduced throughout Europe and North America. The system has been marketed to other companies, and IKEA has established OptiLedge companies to manage and sell products.
IKEA has expanded its sustainability plan in the UK to include electric car charge points for customers at all locations by the end of 2013. These efforts will include Nissan and Ecotricity and promise to provide an 80% fee in 30 minutes.
In February 2014, IKEA in the UK announced that starting in 2016 they would only sell lights, lights and LED lights that are energy efficient. The LED lights use as much as just 15% of the normal incandescent light bulb. IKEA hopes to get 100% clean energy supply in all their companies by 2020.
In March 2018, IKEA has signed a contract with 25 other companies to participate in the Better Retail Better World initiative of the UK Retail Consortium, which challenges the company to meet the objectives outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Giving charity
The INGKA Foundation is officially dedicated to promoting "innovation in architecture and interior design." The net worth of the foundation exceeds the net worth of Bill & amp; The Melinda Gates Foundation (now the largest private foundation in the world) for a period. However, most of the Group's profits are spent on investments; the foundation expects to spend EUR45 million on charity in 2010 (compare the Gates Foundation, which awarded more than $ 1.5 billion in 2005.)
IKEA is involved in several international charities, especially in partnership with UNICEF, including:
- After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, IKEA Australia agreed to match the dollar for dollar co-workers donations and donate all sales of IKEA Blue Bags for the cause.
- After the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, IKEA provided 500,000 blankets for relief efforts in the region.
- IKEA has provided furniture for more than 100 "bridge schools" in Liberia.
- In the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, IKEA Beijing sold crocodile toys for 40 yuan (US $ 5.83, EUR3.70) with all the income given to children in the quake-affected areas.
IKEA also supports the American Forests to restore forests and reduce pollution.
IKEA Social Initiative
In September 2005, IKEA Social Initiative was formed to manage corporate social engagement at the global level. The IKEA Social Initiative is led by Marianne Barner.
IKEA Social Initiative's main partners are UNICEF and Save the Children.
On February 23, 2009, at the ECOSOC event in New York, UNICEF announced that IKEA Social Initiative has become the agency's largest corporate partner, with a total commitment of over US $ 180 million.
Examples of engagement:
- The IKEA Social Initiative donated EUR1 to UNICEF and Save the Children from every soft toy sold during the holiday season, bringing the total to EUR16.7 million so far. In 2013, IKEA soft toy, Lufsig, created a storm and sold out in Hong Kong and in Southern China for being mentioned in Chinese.
- The IKEA Social Initiative provides soft toys for children in Burma after Cyclone Nargis.
- Starting June 2009, for every solar-powered Sunnan lamp sold at IKEA stores around the world, IKEA Social Initiative will donate one Sunnan with the help of UNICEF.
- In September 2011, IKEA Foundation pledged to donate $ 62 million to help Somali refugees in Kenya.
- According to The Economist , however, the IKEA charity grants are few, "hardly a fault of rounding off in the asset's foundation."
In 2009, Sweden's largest television station, SVT, revealed that IKEA's money - three percent of the collection from every shop - did not really go to a charitable foundation in the Netherlands, as IKEA said. Inter IKEA is owned by a foundation in Liechtenstein, called Interogo, which has raised $ 12 billion, and is controlled by the Kamprad family.
Marketing
Catalog
IKEA publishes an annual catalog, first published in Sweden in 1951. IKEA published 197 million catalogs in 2010, in twenty languages ​​and sixty-one editions. It is considered a major retail marketing giant, spending 70% of the company's annual marketing budget.
The catalog is distributed both in stores and in the mail, with most being produced by IKEA Communications AB at IKEA's hometown of ÃÆ' â € žlmhult, Sweden where IKEA operates the largest photo studio in northern Europe covering an area of ​​8,000 square meters (86,000 sqÃ, ft ). The catalog itself is printed on chlorine-free paper from 10-15% of post-consumer waste, and prints about 175 million copies worldwide each year, more than 3 times that of the Bible.
The 2013 Catalog is a compatible smartphone, containing video and photo galleries accessible through apps by scanning catalog pages, while the 2014 catalog incorporates an augmented reality app that projects items into real-time photo images from a user's room. The added reality application also provides an indication of the scale of IKEA objects in relation to the user's environment.
Ads
In 1994, IKEA ran advertisements in the United States widely considered to be the first to show homosexual couples; it aired for several weeks before being withdrawn after a call for a boycott and a bomb threat directed at the IKEA store. Other IKEA ads appeal to the wider GLBTQ community, featuring a transgender woman.
In 2002, the inaugural television component of the "UnbÃÆ'¶ring" campaign, titled Lamp, later won several awards, including Grand Clio, Golds at the London International Awards and ANDY Awards, and the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the most prestigious award ceremony in the advertising community.
IKEA launched the "House is the Most Important Place in the World" advertising campaign in September 2007 in the United Kingdom using a real estate agent mark with the term "Not For Sale" written on them as part of a wider campaign. After the campaign appeared in the Metro London newspaper, the business website www.mad.co.uk said that the IKEA campaign had a remarkable resemblance to the marketing activities of British home improvement company Onis who had launched a campaign advertising Not Sold two years earlier and was awarded the Construction Marketing Award 2006 Interbuild for the best campaign under Ã, Â £ 25,000.
The debate took place between Fraser Patterson, Onis Executive Chief and Andrew McGuinness, partners at Beattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB), advertising agencies and PR awarding IKEA accounts for £ 12 million. The essence of the debate is that BMB claims to be unaware of Onis's campaign because Onis is not an advertising agency. Onis's argument is that his ads can be seen in famous places throughout London, which are already accredited, showing concern about the impact of IKEA's campaign on its originality. BMB and IKEA then agree to provide Onis with a feature page on the IKEA campaign site linked to Onis website for a period of 1 year.
In 2008, IKEA paired with the video game maker The Sims 2 to create a package of goods called IKEA Home Stuff , featuring many IKEA products. The album was released on June 24, 2008 in North America and June 26, 2008 in Europe. This is the second item package with the main brand, the first is The Sims 2 H & amp; M Fashion Stuff .
IKEA took over the title sponsor of the Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia in 2008, replacing Boscov, who filed for bankruptcy in August 2008.
In November 2008, a subway decorated in IKEA style was introduced in Novosibirsk, Russia. Four cars converted into a mobile showroom from Swedish design. The redesigned train, which features colorful seats and luxurious curtains, takes passengers until June 6, 2009.
The oyster card (a free-ticket system for the London Underground) was provided with an IKEA sponsored wallet in 2008-09. IKEA also sponsors tube maps.
In January 2009, just before the new store opened in Southampton, MVÃ, Red Osprey from Red Funnel was repainted in full blue and yellow to celebrate the opening of a new IKEA store in Southampton. This is the first time the Red Funnel ferry has been repainted from its own red and white scheme. It stayed in these colors for 12 months as part of an agreement between Red Funnel and IKEA to provide home delivery services to the Isle of Wight. It was repainted in red and white Red Corong when the deal ended in January 2010.
In March 2010, IKEA developed an event at four important Metro stations in Paris, where a collection of furniture is displayed in high-traffic places, giving prospects a chance to check out the brand's products. Metro walls are also filled with prints that feature the interior of IKEA.
In September 2010, IKEA launched an ad for Britain and Ireland called "Happy Inside" which has 100 cats lying on IKEA furniture at IKEA's flagship store in Wembley, London.
In April 2011, an advertising campaign was launched to discover whether men or women are more messy at home. Created by Mother, the campaign will begin with TV commercials in front of a live audience, featuring four stand-up comedians, two men and two women, debating which gender is more messy. The idea behind the campaign is that household chaos leads to arguments, and thus to an unhappy house, the conflict IKEA wants to show can be avoided with better storage. Viewers will be directed to the new Facebook page for the brand, where they can choose who they believe is more messy, and send evidence using videos and photos through apps made specifically for the campaign. In the meantime, an online display banner will allow other users the opportunity to vote, with online ads promoting IKEA products that point out the problems facing people, and offering solutions.
In 2016, along with the Stockholm ad agency ÃÆ'â € | Holst kestam, IKEA released a video campaign "Where Life Happens". The series focuses on taboos issues such as divorce and adoption, and is filmed in a non-traditional 4: 3 aspect ratio. The campaign won the Epica gold award in Amsterdam.
IKEA Family
Similar to some other retailers, IKEA unveiled a loyalty card called "IKEA Family". This card is free and can be used to get discounts on certain products found inside the store. It is available worldwide. Along with the card, IKEA also publishes and sells a quarterly print magazine titled IKEA Family Live that complements cards and catalogs. The magazine has been printed in thirteen languages ​​and English edition for Great Britain was launched in February 2007. It is expected to subscribe to more than 500,000.
IKEA Place Application
On September 12, 2017, IKEA announced augmented reality app, IKEA Place, along with the release of ARKt Apple and iOS 11 technologies. IKEA Place helps consumers to visualize properly to scale IKEA products into real environments.
Criticism
Negative media attention
IKEA's goals on sustainability and environmental design in its products sometimes conflict with the impact a new IKEA store can have on the community. In particular, the size of the proposed IKEA store often gets significant opposition from members of the community. The following is a list of issues that received negative attention from the media, both regarding the size of IKEA stores and other controversies:
- In September 2004, when IKEA offered a $ 150 free voucher at the opening of a new store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three people were destroyed to death in a raid following the opening of the store.
- IKEA has destroyed historical buildings to make room for parking lots, including parts of Marcel Breuer landmarks, Pirelli Tyre Building and Red Hook polishing tombs. (In College Park, Maryland, USA, save there is an interactive digital display that tells the history of the store where it once was located.)
- In 2007, about ten ancient tombs were destroyed while IKEA built a shop in Nanjing, southeast China. Archaeologists from the Nanjing Museum asked whether construction companies could stop work as they collected artefacts, but they did not receive the necessary permits.
- In 2004, there was controversy about Irish law limiting the maximum size of retail outlets to 6,000 square meters (65,000 square feet). IKEA's plan to build a much larger store in Dublin led to legislation to be prepared for debate. The law was amended to remove size limits for retail outlets selling durable goods in designated areas. The Environment Minister was criticized for allegedly changing the law to adapt one company and another to protesting legal changes as damaging to small businesses while the government defended its decision stating that the move was positive for Irish consumers. IKEA Dublin since it opened on July 27, 2009.
- In June 2007, the appointed nationalist Social Democratic and Labor party complained about the rendering of IKEA Belfast artists who included the Union Flag flag and the Ulster Banner flag as two of the three flags in front of the store. After being labeled "upscale Orange room" by the party, IKEA assures customers and co-workers that only the Swedish flag will be visible outside the actual store.
- In a police investigation (2008) for corruption in Spain, there was a conversation between the director of IKEA Expansion and the owner of an entrepreneur from the land chosen to find a store in Alicante. The IKEA Director is happy to meet the "Spanish mafia"
Price discrimination
IKEA has been criticized by Citytv in Canada for charging up to double in their Canadian stores because the same items are sold in their American stores, although the Canadian dollar strikes a balance with the US dollar.
Within days of the launch of the South Korean edition of the official website, a complaint arose from a group of consumers about IKEA's price policy in that country: certain product prices higher than other countries. On November 24, 2014, Jang Duck-jin, head of the Fair Trade Commission's consumer policy bureau, told the media that the Commission plans to assign consumer groups to compare the prices of IKEA products by country, and on March 19, 2015, the Korean Consumer Union published a comparative report price of 49 IKEA products in South Korea and other countries.
Branding and advertising allegations biased
- Former Norwegian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik criticizes IKEA for not describing the woman who is assembling the furniture in an instruction booklet. IKEA rejects this claim in a statement. A University of Copenhagen researcher pointed out that over the years, IKEA had named their cheap rugs after the Danish places, while more expensive and luxurious furnishings were named from Sweden. The researcher Klaus KjÃÆ'¸ller, famous for his tongue-in-cheek statement, accused IKEA of cultural imperialism.
- In October 2012, IKEA was criticized for watering women from pictures in the catalog used in Saudi Arabia.
- In October 2017, TV commercials by IKEA showed a mother scolding her daughter for not "bringing her boyfriend home" criticized by netizens for "sexist" and discrimination against single and single women in China. IKEA then apologizes for "giving wrong perception".
Meatballs meat horse
In February 2013, IKEA announced it has attracted 17,000 servings of Swedish meatballs containing beef and pork from stores in Europe after testing in the Czech Republic found traces of horse meat in the product. The company removed Swedish meatballs from store shelves on February 25, 2013, but only announced it after Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet revealed what had happened. In a March 2013 media report, IKEA representatives claimed that the company had forced the Dafgard Family, its main meatballs supplier, to stop business with eight of its 15 suppliers and would reduce the number of countries that buy. The meat of the horse found was traced to a Polish slaughterhouse.
Child death
In July 2015, IKEA, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, through the company's Safer Homes Together advertising campaign, issued warnings in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland to customers to secure Malm's drawer cabinets and cabinets firmly for the wall using a distributed free kit by the company, after two deaths of young children in the US in February and June 2014 when the furniture part rolled over them. There were three other deaths, from 1989, from another, an inverse similar tool model, and 14 incidents of Malm's upside-down chest, resulting in four injuries. The company sends out a free kit at customer's request to install furniture to the wall. In June 2016, after the third toddler died in the US, IKEA withdrew all Malm's clothing makers as well as some similar models that pose a danger of tipping if not secured to the wall with the device provided. On July 12, 2016, due to two weeks of pressure in China, IKEA announced that it extended the withdrawal to the country, which - along with Europe - was initially excluded from the withdrawal. More than 29 million dressers have been recalled. IKEA has set a lawsuit of false deaths of over $ 50 million in compensation to the families of the three children who were killed.
In 2014, documents were found in the Securitate archives in Bucharest showing that the purchase of Romanian timbers openly by IKEA throughout the 1980s was part of a complicated scheme (codenamed "Scandinavica") to fund Securitate and allow for accumulated foreign currency: Romania The Tehnoforestexport timber company will regularly overcharge IKEA, transfer overpayments to a private Securitate bank account, await for increased interest, and then replace IKEA as the principal. IKEA has rejected involvement in Scandinavica, but has begun an internal investigation to learn more.
Countries with IKEA presence
IKEA has more than 400 stores worldwide. Among countries with two-digit IKEA stores are Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.
References
External links
- Company home page
- Inter Home page of IKEA Group
- IKEA Systems B.V. home page
- The IKEA company is grouped in OpenCorporates
- "Miracle of ÃÆ'â € ž lmhult" by Oliver Burkeman of the Guardian newspaper. The author talks about his visit to the IKEA headquarters in ÃÆ' â € žlmhult
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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