In 1986, it now sounds far away, so I have forgotten who introduced me to Ingvar Kamprad, the owner of IKEA. He is conducting market research in China.
Not only the market, he investigated many projects, including suppliers, land, government policies, lifestyles, and so on. He asked me to be a guide and a translator. Actually, I also came to China at that time. Without a company, I didn't have to live. I just talked about his translation.
IKEA founder - Kamprad
I took him to Nanjing Forestry University on the first stop and faced hundreds of suppliers. What he said, I forgot. I only remember there was a young graduate student Wu Zhihui who later became a professor and dean of Nanlin. . Another thing that impressed me was that he finished speaking and put the two bundles of IKEA product catalogues he brought open on the table. I just said: "If you need someone, you can come and get it."
With a bang, hundreds of people rushed to the table and Kamprad did not know what was going on. He jumped to the table and panicked.
At that time, the color catalogue of products like that in China was probably rare.
In fact, IKEA did not have globalization at the time. From the long 30 years from 1943 to 1972, IKEA only did domestic business in Sweden, and its annual turnover was 3-4 billion RMB.
From 1973 to 1998, IKEA began to expand into the European market. The number of stores increased from 7-8 to 27, and its turnover increased to nearly 60 billion RMB.
However, in 1986, Kamprad had begun to plan for globalization. He planned for more than 10 years before he put it into practice.
In 1999, IKEA began to globalize. By 2009, its turnover had reached 200 billion yuan.
Back in 1986, I lived with Kamprad. For the first time in my life, I encountered so embarrassing people. No matter how many people eat, the food should not exceed one hundred US dollars (in fact, the one hundred US dollars was quite a lot at the time, and he did not know that I only spent 80 yuan). The hotel can't exceed three stars. The three-star hotel can't live and is very dirty. I can only ask him for a number. I will arrange it. He travels by air and is basically an economy class.
Why is it so frugal, he wants to save any penny, save costs, and keep the price at the lowest price?
This is his corporate culture. A recent look at Anders Dahlvig’s newly retired chief executive, Anders Dahlvig, wrote a new book, “IKEA, Beyond Home,†to better understand Kamprad’s corporate culture: “Create for the masses Better everyday life."
In order to achieve this goal, the terminal must be sold at a cheap price and strive to cut prices every year. In this way, people can only have a better day to day life.
He set an example.
He drives an old Volvo everyday and has been driving for 25 years. Our furniture boss (as opposed to IKEA) is not a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW, but there are more exaggerated, open Bentley, Hummer or something. Then brag about me and say that it should be developed into the size of IKEA, or even bigger!
There is no vision, no corporate culture, no social responsibility, and the operation of large companies with the mentality of a small company...I really can't imagine that we can develop IKEA in China.
Through DeVig's introduction, IKEA's business philosophy has the following key points:
1, of course, low cost, low price, through the entire supply chain, the entire process of cost control, from raw materials, product development, production, transportation, all the way to the mall sales, any factors that affect the cost, such as category, storage, etc. If there is a conflict with cost, priority is given to the cost factor.
Low prices are always ranked first in IKEA
2. Emphasizing the function of the product, IKEA's philosophy is to help people living in small spaces and create more home storage space. IKEA recognizes that it is the function of furniture that enhances people’s daily home life, not the stylish, stylish design.
This is similar to the concept of Uniqlo, a Japanese clothing company, and UNIQLO also advocates de-stylization. To provide affordable and practical clothing, Uniqlo is now ranked first in China's garment market turnover.
3. Establish a new business model. In the 50s and 60s, furniture retail stores all over the world simply placed furniture and were selected by customers. IKEA began to create showrooms in the shopping malls, with an overall display and contextual layout. At the same time not only selling furniture, but also with a variety of household items, from the dishes, dishes, tools, curtains, lamps, decorations, kitchen supplies ... ... and so on. Necessities of home life, everything, one-stop shopping, and under the same design style. Whatever you buy, when you buy it, and when you come back home, it's the Scandinavian flavor.
4. In IKEA's corporate culture, the corporate culture that Darvig understands is: “The method we use to do things here.†Or the attitude of handling day-to-day work. In fact, this is the corporate culture established by Kamprad. In the company, all people wear the same clothes. The office staff only has a desk and no private office. Call the other person's name, not the title, how easy it is to come.
All of IKEA’s senior staff were raised from the grassroots and there were no airborne personnel. The manager must have specific work experience at the grass-roots level, so there will be no case of layman's internal management.
5. With steady development, IKEA has been operating in Sweden for 30 years before entering the European region. After 25 years, it has entered globalization.
They first determined their product style and content, business development concepts and methods, and audiences. Then copy to regional and global. After the business model is determined, the constituent elements will remain basically unchanged. They will only be fine-tuned in time and place. Their change is evolution rather than revolution.
If the company does not stock up enough talent, it cannot expand too quickly. Because from a small company to a big company, thinking, organizational structure, and so on, are very different.
6. Not listed: Kamprad insists not to go public. He believes that since IKEA is not a listed company, it can formulate a longer-term development plan. The same leader has been in charge of IKEA for many years to ensure the continuity of business development. Promoting management from within the company ensures the stability and thorough understanding of the IKEA philosophy.
Facts have proven that IKEA today is better, bigger, and stronger than any listed furniture company in the world. Compared with e-commerce and other industries, IKEA is very stable.
Some time ago, in China, we saw that some people were falling behind in terms of illness and IKEA, and predicted that IKEA would encounter huge problems. In fact, the IKEA website was established more than 10 years ago. The annual visits are 500 million times, and the number of stores that go to IKEA each year is 600 million. The network has played a great function. Compared with some domestic furniture e-commerce providers, the website has a traffic score of several tens or millions of times, and less than 10% of the stores visit the stores, resulting in fewer transactions.
Key online stores have low-priced products, complete categories, and everything, so IKEA stores are rarely left empty-handed.
The website has played its due function. The language of the electricity supplier is very high in conversion rate. It is not a lively map.
7, a unique business philosophy
- Stores are not in the downtown area. Most of them are in the suburbs. They are large and cheap. Not only can they set up scenes and model rooms, but also can set up restaurants and parking lots. Customers can spend a day in the store.
- Do not follow the trend, do not rush to fashion, unlike many domestic companies, Chinese style, new Chinese style, while Scandinavian design ... change every year, become more and more run. Since 1943, IKEA's design has only been adapted to different functions and sizes in its original style.
- When the furniture industry is customizing the wind, IKEA not only does not follow suit, their furniture further develops to DIY. IKEA believes that most customers have a lot of leisure time and they should be allowed to participate in it. As long as the structure is simple and the parts are standard, customers can assemble themselves. Due to the savings in shipping and assembly costs, this can greatly reduce the selling price.
No matter how much wind blows in the market, how much wind blows, I don’t move
Darvig talked a lot and he was very proud to talk about IKEA, but there are things I don't agree with, such as:
IKEA pursues excessively low prices without discussing the quality of the products. What people are pursuing should be price/performance, not just price.
Because of the excessive pursuit of low prices, they are also excessively squeezing suppliers. Every year, manufacturers are required to lower prices. Actually, wages, inflation, and other factors, production costs are rising year after year. Although they are more productive and more skilled, The cost can be reduced, but the reality is that many suppliers lose their orders because of over-reliance on IKEA.
Darvig has been talking about environmental protection and corporate social responsibility. In fact, IKEA has not done enough in these aspects. Such a large company, such a large profit, IKEA did not do enough in this area than other European companies of similar size.
Perhaps this is related to the character of Kamprad during his lifetime.
On January 28, I received a phone call from an executive from IKEA China: Tell me: "Kamprad, 91, died of a cold." He said that everyone was very sad and I was rather sad. The number one person in the furniture industry left.
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