Ikea: Fabulous Prefab
When a Swedish teenager established a small business in his village in 1943, few could have predicted that it would become the largest furniture retailer in the world. Almost 70 years later, however, Ikea is an international giant, and there is no end in sight to its expansion. The company's success is down to the unique and sometimes controversial business model established by Ingvar Kamprad, who founded the company all those years ago.
The fact is that Ikea supplies attractive furniture at dirt-cheap prices. This coupled with a strong brand identity has seen it weather economic downturns. The current CEO Mikael Ohlsson believes the thrift that has served Ikea so well is rooted in the company's origins in a relatively underdeveloped region of Sweden. Locals, says Ohlsson, are “stubborn, cost-conscious and ingenious at making a living with very little.”
Another facet of Ikea's corporate culture that has reinforced its positive image is its green, socially conscious bent. In addition to the nine wind farms it owns in France and Germany, Ikea is building a facility in Sweden, which will power 17 stores. In terms of corporate responsibility and ethics, Ikea highlights its charity initiatives and points out that 40 percent of its top managers are female.
解構 Ikea 一體兩面的品牌營運術
當一位瑞典青少年於一九四三年在自己的村莊開設了間小公司時，很少人能預期到這家公司會成為全球最大的家具零售商。然而近七十年後，Ikea 已是國際巨擘，且其拓展看不見所謂的終點。Ikea 的成功歸因於英格瓦‧坎普拉所創立的獨特，但有時卻引發爭議的商業模式，坎普拉在多年前創立了這家公司。
事實上，Ikea 提供了吸引人且超便宜的家具。再加上強大的品牌識別度，Ikea 因此得以安然度過經濟低靡時期。現任執行長米凱爾‧歐森相信在 Ikea 產生極佳效果的簡約模式，乃根植於公司發跡自瑞典發展相對欠缺之地區。歐森表示：「當地人對於力行超儉約生活的態度是頑強、錙銖必較且非常機敏的。」
另一個強化 Ikea 正面形象的企業文化面乃其對環保與社會意識的愛好。除了在法國和德國擁有九座風力發電廠外，Ikea 正在瑞典建造一座可供應十七間店面電力的設備。從企業責任與道德面來看，Ikea 以其善行為特點並讓大家知道公司高階主管有四成為女性。
資料來源：biz 互動英語電子報
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