Case
Teaching Notes
Abstract
In the story of IKEA, we see how its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, started his business in a village in 1943 under conditions where scarcity was the norm. However, by putting his heart and creativity into every single step he took, questioning the usual way of doing business, trying to do things differently by applying innovation, he began getting better market results than others had done. This case presents the backstory to how IKEA grew and how it became an international operation. In addition, we examine in context the criteria for becoming an international brand and see how global marketing can be practiced without alienating local markets. Some international marketing strategies of IKEA are also discussed by analyzing the IKEA entry strategy into the Turkish market in 2005, learning the approach taken at its launch, which elements of marketing were standardized, and which were adapted for improving market results. In this case we see whether the IKEA entry strategy into the Turkish market yielded the expected market results, and also consider the required success conditions for attaining satisfactory results in global marketing.
