"I bought a sofa from IKEA two months ago, but I didn't expect it to last for a long time. The sponge has collapsed." Yesterday, Miss Cai, who had just finished renovation, complained in a chat with reporters.
Coincidentally, the designer of a well-known interior design company in Shanghai also told reporters that as a familiar person in the industry, the company generally does not choose IKEA when purchasing soft clothes, the quality is poor, and the price is relatively high, “unless it is a product of individual promotion. ".
There are indications that IKEA, which has been winning in the low-cost mode in the European and American markets, has become a representative of “high price and low quality†in the minds of Chinese consumers. “Hello is not a seat†has become a true portrayal of its presence in the Chinese market.
Frequent quality problems
A few days ago, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission released the latest report that the number of IKEA recalls related to light rails reached 97,000, of which about 5,000 were recalled in North America. The main reason is that the grounding connection of the light rail is flawed, which will cause consumers to have electric shock. risk.
The news was confirmed by IKEA. IKEA issued a statement saying that it will recall a light rail with a risk of electric shock on a global scale, involving a total of 97,000.
This incident once again pushed IKEA into the "quality door." The reporter searched the Internet for "IKEA Home" and found that the majority of netizens complained a lot about IKEA. The complaints about the quality of IKEA products on the forum and Weibo were one after another. A blogger named "Cotton-Marshmallow" broke the news that the wardrobe glass he bought at IKEA suddenly burst without touching, but fortunately, no casualties were caused.
Another "Mr. Xiao Guo" complained that the table he bought at the IKEA Tianjin store took less than two months, the blue protective film on the surface had not been torn open, and the table had already cracked. And she also said that for the quality problems frequently seen in IKEA, I really don't know whether the brand is special treatment for China, or whether the furniture itself has huge quality problems.
According to media reports, some of the bookcase products produced by IKEA use honeycomb panel technology, in which the honeycomb filler is made of paper. According to industry insiders, honeycomb panel furniture is not as load-bearing as ordinary sheet and solid wood furniture, and is easily damaged during use.
Low price mode failure
However, despite recent quality issues, this did not affect IKEA's passenger traffic.
Yesterday, the reporter came to the IKEA home near the Shanghai Stadium to see that the entrance to the IKEA has already posted a banner of “big sale price – more than four hundred kinds of goods from 50% offâ€. Attracted by the big price reduction, although it is not a weekend, the flow of people coming to IKEA is still endless.
"I usually go to IKEA if I have nothing to do, take a camera and take a photo. If a friend comes to play, I will take him to visit IKEA. I feel very emotional." Miss Zhang, who lives in Xujiahui, told reporters that IKEA is positioned in her heart. More like a tourist attraction, “Occasionally, I will buy some small items for discounts, but big furniture will not be considered, because I know the quality is good, and the price is not affordable. I will look at the style and look for other prices to be cheaper. Brand."
However, contrary to the impression of leaving consumers with high prices, IKEA has always advertised its own “low price, close to the publicâ€, “providing a wide variety of beautiful and practical household items that ordinary people can afford†is the concept of its founding. This strategy also keeps it in a leading position in the European and American markets.
Obviously, this strategy is difficult to work in the Chinese market. In 2009, IKEA launched a “Brand Capitad†– testing and tracking the implementation of the IKEA concept and measuring the confidence of customers in each country. This survey is conducted every three years. The results of the survey made IKEA very frustrated: IKEA, a low-end brand that has always been targeted at mass consumers, has been positioned as a high-end in the minds of Chinese consumers, and is associated with petty bourgeoisie and middle class.
Song Shihou, chairman of Houcheng Wood, even broke the news to the media. The so-called high quality and low price of the IKEA group is only Shantou. The sale and purchase of IKEA is actually a huge profit. The sales price of most commodities exceeds the purchase price by more than twice.
China's market is difficult to develop
The highly personalized Chinese market has invisibly given IKEA a "stick". After entering China for 14 years, China still seems to be the number one IKEA procurement base, not a sales center. Its performance growth and store opening speed in China are questioned to be less commensurate with the image of the world's largest home furnishing giant.
From the perspective of store development, after more than a decade of development, IKEA has only 11 stores in the Chinese market.
In terms of sales volume, IKEA's sales in China have increased by more than 20% so far this fiscal year. However, the national economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in the first three quarters of 2011 showed that China's furniture retail sales increased by 31.4%. From this point of view, IKEA's sales growth in China does not seem to be satisfactory.
“In the Chinese market, the high price issue is related to IKEA’s global pricing strategy.†Li Zhe, a managing partner and vice president of the policy management, said in an interview with the International Finance News that compared with developed countries, Chinese consumption The income of the people is much lower, so even if IKEA claims to cut prices many times in the Chinese market, its price is still unacceptable.
Li Zhe said that the quality problems are related to the consumption habits and concepts of consumers in the European and American markets. “In Europe and America, IKEA products are mainly designed for young people over 18 years old. They are more concerned about the simplicity, ease of use and convenient movement of homes. At present, furniture is still a durable consumer product in China. Many consumers buy furniture. For long time use."
Li Zhe believes that IKEA should maintain the current development speed of the Chinese market and wait for the maturity of the local market. "China is a market with great development potential, but it is still immature. Companies that are a global resource allocation should be cautiously waiting."
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