Read the IKEA case study presented below and answer the following questions: 1. What are some of the things IKEA is doing well to reach consumers in different markets? What else co 2. IKEA has essentially changed the way people shop for furniture. Discuss the pros and cons of this stre continue to expand in places like Asia and India. IKEA IKEA was founded in 1943 by a 17-year-old Swede named Ingvar Kampred who sold pens, Christmas C family's farm. The name IKEA was derived from Kampred's initials (IK) and the first letters of the Elmt where he grew up (EA). Over the years, the company grew into a retail titan in home furnishings and a g Business Week to call it a "one-stop sanctuary for coolness" and "the quintessential cult brand " IKEA ine devotion from its customers. Each year more than 650 million visitors walk through its stores all over the round-trip but happily make the effort in order to experience IKEA's unique value proposition: leading-e furnishings at extremely low prices IKEA's Scandinavian-designed products are well made and appeal to the masses. To stay relevant and fe approximately one third of its product lines each year. Most have Swedish names, such as HEKTAR lam tables. Kampred, who was dyslexic, believed it was easier to remember product names rather than codes fashionable and good-quality products, IKEA stands out in the industry because of its bargain prices. The been "to create a better everyday life for the many people." As Kampred said, "People have very thin we interests." A high percentage of its customers are college students and families with children. IKEA continuously seeks out new ways to run its businesses more efficiently and pass those cost savings on to the customer. In fact, it reduces prices across its products by 1 percent to 3 percent annually. How the consumer on many levels, including having the customer do all the shopping shipping, and assembly winding, one-way format featuring different inspirational room settings, so consumers experience the er cart, pay for the items, visit the warehouse, and pick up their purchases in flat boxes. Consumers load the completely assemble the products themselves. This strategy makes storage and transportation easier and IKEA has also implemented several company-wide strategies to keep operational costs low. The compan uses lighter packaging materials, and saves on electricity through solar panels, low-wattage light bulbs, = six different countries. Its stores are located a good distance from most city centers, which helps keep lan develops new products, its designers and product developers start with a low-price tag first and then work around the world to develop the product within that price range. Designs are efficient, and waste is kept large box with few windows and doors and are painted bright yellow and blue-Sweden's national color uniformly throughout the world, but the company also caters to local and regional tastes. For example, st each New Year. During the Chinese Year of the Rooster, IKEA stocked 250,000 plastic placemats with ro When employees realized U.S., shoppers were buying vases as drinking glasses because they considered company developed larger glasses for the U.S. market. After IKEA managers visited European and U.S. that Europeans generally hang their clothes, whereas U.S. shoppers prefer to store them folded. As a resu