IKEA-case-study(the-fifth-group)

IKEACatalogue:Arethereanyculturaldifferences?冯雄彪程龙戈张珏融1.DiscusstheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofhavingthesameproductrangeshowninallIKEAcataloguesaroundtheworld?AdvantagesPropagatinglife-stylesaroundtheworldAsshownintheIKEAcatalogues,itnotonlypresentsvarioussetsoffurniturebutalsoaccordingdecorations,whichasawholemakepeoplegetthefeelingofacozyandwarmfamilylife.Thatistosay,throughthecataloguemarketing,IKEAistryingtopropagatingitslifephilosophiesorlife-stylesaroundworld.Andinthisway,peoplemayinclinetofindsomeideasfromitscatalogues,thusstrengtheningtheIKEAbrandrecognition.DisadvantagesCulturaldifferenceSinceculturesarequitedifferentinvariousregions,inouropinion,itisnotverysuitabletoincludeallthesameproductrangeshowninallIKEAcataloguesaroundworld.Forexample,acertainportionofChinesepeople,especiallyagedpeople,preferthoseretrokindofthings,whichtheythinkaremoretastefulandofgoodquality.However,IKEAdoesnotcatchitandwecanonlyfindsimpleandmodernfurnitureinitscatalogues,whichisnotabletofullymeetthedemandofChinesepeople.AmbiguouspositioningIKEAisknownforitslow-coststrategy,however,inChina,peopledonotgetthefeelingofitbecauseitsfurniture’spriceisnotaslowasinthosedevelopedcountriesinconsiderationsofdifferentaveragedisposableincome.Hence,ChinesepeoplefindIKEAproductsaresoldovertheiraffordablepriceandalsooflowquality.2.ThecatalogueisthemostimportantelementinIKEA’sglobalmarketingplanning.Discussiftherecouldbesomeculturaldifferencesintheeffectivenessofthecatalogueasamarketingtool.ThecataloguemarketingisaverycosteffectivewayforIKEAtoadvertiseitsfurnitureproductsandalsoatthesametimepropagateitslifephilosophies.Butthemainchallengeofthismarketingtoolisthatcustomersaroundtheworlddonothavesametypeofcultures,practices,incomelevel,etc.Asmentionedabove,ifallthesamerangeofproductsisshowninthecatalogsdistributedaroundtheworld,peoplewillgetconfusedofIKEA’sproductspositioning,andalsobenotabletofindthingstheyneed.Thus,wethinkitisofgreatimportanceforIKEAtodifferentiatethecontentofthefurniturecataloguesaccordingtoregionalculturaldifferenceandotherfactors.WerecommendthatIKEAshouldmakeacompletemarketanalysistogettoknowlocalpeople’spreference,incomelevel,lifestylesandsoon.Andaccordingly,bemoreflexiblewhendecidingitsmarketingstrategy,i.e.therangeofproductsinthecatalogues.Inaword,companiesoughttofindandcatertopeople’sneeds,butnotonlypropagatewhattheythinkinregardlessofthemarketdemands.3.Explainsomeculturaldifferenceswhichareillustratedbythetwodifferentillustrationsofthesameproduct(fromtheDanishandChineseIKEAcatalogues).TheIKEAillustrationsfromthecataloguefromEurope(Denmark)andChina(Shanghai)showsfollowingfundamentaldifferencesbetweenDanishandChinesehomesandfamilies:TheChineseillustrationreflectstheChineseone-childpolicy(twochildrenareshownintheDanishillustration)TheapartmentintheDanishillustrationseemstobelarger,whereastheChineseillustrationshowsasmallerroom,indicatingasmallerapartment,whichisnormalinmanypartsofAsia.Reference1.Wikipedia.://://onlinecataloguecanada.ikea.com/CA/en/IKEA_Catalogue/