IKEA, the world’s largest & extremely popular furniture maker will open its 1st outlet (37ooo square meter with 1000 seater capacity cafeteria) in Hyderabad, India.
IKEA has invested time to understand the Indian consumers by visiting 1000s of homes to gain insight into their needs, desire, dreams, aspiration & how they feel about their homes.
This study helped IKEA ensure that they design products & cafeteria menu which respects the cultural sensitivity of the people the s
tore will serve!
o Ingredient: IKEA will not be serving its famed meatball made from ‘beef’. Bowing to cultural sensitivity the meatball will be made from chicken.
o Local menu: In its cafeteria, it will serve local favourites catering to local taste ‘vegetarian’ ball, biryani, samosa & more!
o Price Sensitive shoppers: For them, IKEA has designed a range of products which is priced at less than Rs. 200.
o Merchandise: IKEA will also offer a range of special appliances – idly making equipment & products – masala box – which are unique to India,
o Do-It-Yourself (DIY): Across the world, IKEA is known for its DIY strategy – shoppers buy semi-assembled furniture at IKEA stores, carry it home where they assemble it themselves. IKEA follows this strategy to keep the price down. But in India, where the price of labour is low, people are not used to assembling. Therefore, IKEA had tied up with Urban Clap – an online platform that helps connect ‘karigar’ with people.
Bottom-line: Customers will not change their habits to suit your products. You will have to modify / craft products which will compliant with your customer's lifestyle & cultural beliefs!