IKEA’s sales are up, and so are its profits. Last year, IKEA produced revenues of $31.5 billion worldwide from 267 stores, with profits at $3.4 billion, or 11 percent of sales. They’re doing $120 million per location. Those are Costco type numbers.
In reading their report, IKEA also disclosed that 11% of it sales came from the U.S. market.
So, what does all of this mean? It means that a company from Sweden has figured out American wants and needs better than Americans could.
What can we learn from them? What is it that they do that we want?
They’ve made home furnishings shopping an experience, not a chore. They bring ideas, not just product. They offer food and fun, not a salesperson with a clipboard. They understand that shopping includes all of the senses of sight, sound, smell, hearing and touch. They are different, and they are better at what they do.
It’s amazing to me that whenever I talk to a person who buys something from IKEA, they complain about the assembly, they apologize about the quality, and they go back for more.
Just imagine what would happen if the consumer really liked their products!
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