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September 01, 2004
Ikea - the same thing might not work everywhere
As you may know, I love Ikea - think it is a great best of both play. But interestingly enough despite great ads and the notion of "build it and they will come," Ikea may run into some issues in China.
You can see their huge logo and warehouses in Shanghai and Beijing and they are well trafficked. But according to local friends, there are some real issues. First, it is all the same stuff - nothing really Chinese all the way down to the meatballs. Also two ends of the China market shy away. The higher end folks who think its cool to buy Ikea designs do not ever want to put something together so the whole little wrench thing doesn't go over. On the low end of the market a whole cottage industry has developed that will clone and assemble any Ikea furniture for half the price.
I'm sure Ikea will figure it out and do great but it's always a good lesson not to take to much for granted about your marketing playing field.
Posted by johnza at September 1, 2004 09:05 PM
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