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Ikea: Radical Product Designs for Futuristic Customers
EXCERPTS
RADICAL PRODUCT DESIGNS
In 2012, Ikea began to plan for a radical product design overhauling process, aiming at more innovative, stylish, and trendsetting designs to increase sales. One of the key moves toward that aim was bringing in an experienced design head. In 2012, Ikea rehired Marcus Engman (Engman) as the head of Ikea’s design team. To enhance Ikea’s brand image and build sales was Engman’s immediate task. Ikea was on the verge of being labeled as bringing out cheap stuff as against using economical, sustainable materials with great designs. In one of his interviews, Engman said: “We could be misinterpreted as a low-price company doing cheap stuff”. “But we're all about affordability. There's a big difference. And this is one of my crusades.”.. |
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GOING FORWARD
At the end of 2015 – after two years of falling sales, Ikea reported that there was an 11.2% increase in sales resulting from sustainable designs. The CEO of Ikea, Peter Agnefjall, said Ikea had aimed for a growth strategy two years earlier and the strategy was yielding results with the design of better products that were sustainable and with a focus on bathroom and bedroom products . Ikea reached its targeted number of store openings in 2015. It opened 13 new stores and had a network of 328 stores worldwide and announced its sales target - “to double its 2011 sales of 25.2 billion Euros by 2020”...
EXHIBITS
Exhibit I: Steps in Ikea’s Product Design
Exhibit II: Ikea’s Collaborations with Global Designers
