Ikea Delays Thai Plans

[Phil Conners]

2) Style of furniture: If anyone has been into an average middle class Thai persons home, you'll see that the interior is the last thing they care about. It is a cultural thing stangely unique to asia (ex HK and Singapore). They care about their showiness to outsiders (ie flash car), but couldn't give a toss if their house looks like a bomb hit it. Totally the opposite mentality to the west, where our home is out best investment.

I think you must know poor people only. The upper-middle and upper class very much care about their interior. Ikea will sell well if not for any other reason then because it is from the west. Wait and see.

And as Mobi already said:

I seem to recall buying 'flat pack' furniture from both S & B and Index through the years, (I wasn't aware it was flat pack when I bought it), and of course delivery was free, and came with a team of workmen who assembled the furniture in no time flat.

Same here, very expensive (relatively) furniture from Index came in 'flat packs' and a bunch of Thais to assemble it.

Edited September 25, 2007 by Phil Conners

[sonicdragon]

Is it that bad ?

I thought with Ikea on the market , we could have some more choice for furniture .

But maybe it would be to pricy compared to what is available anyway .

Not bad at all that Ikea are not going to Thailand. With the rain and humidity their cheap, nasty, tasteless chipboard cr*p - oops, I mean furniture would not last 5 minutes.

And I can just see Thais following the instructions for the flatpack furniture assebly after a whiskey or 2

Ikea... not such a good idea IMHO

Personally, these days I don't buy ikea goods often and it is limited to things like coat hangers and food bowls for our dogs, but their business model seems impressively successful wherever they operate - Hong Kong has just as much, if not more, humidity and rain as Thailand, yet they run 4 very succesful outlets there.

When I first bought a house in the UK I furnished it almost completely from Ikea. That property is now rented out and most of the original furniture is still going strong almost 20 years later.

[Sanpatong]

Can we all stop blathering on about the relative merits of furnature and keep on TOPIC for f@cks sake?

I honestly think they're well aware of it but do it on purpose.

Might as well leave them in their own little retired world.

[samran]

2) Style of furniture: If anyone has been into an average middle class Thai persons home, you'll see that the interior is the last thing they care about. It is a cultural thing stangely unique to asia (ex HK and Singapore). They care about their showiness to outsiders (ie flash car), but couldn't give a toss if their house looks like a bomb hit it. Totally the opposite mentality to the west, where our home is out best investment.

I think you must know poor people only. The upper-middle and upper class very much care about their interior. Ikea will sell well if not for any other reason then because it is from the west. Wait and see.

Thats a change, most people reckon I'm some his so Thai or rich expat.

[baboon]

Can we all stop blathering on about the relative merits of furnature and keep on TOPIC for f@cks sake?

I honestly think they're well aware of it but do it on purpose.

Might as well leave them in their own little retired world.

Thank God. A kindred spirit. Some right old tarts on this [potentially very interesting] thread or what?

[JimmyCA]

It's pretty pitiful really ain't it!

They sound ditch the Thai plans and come to Laos, I know of a perfect plot of land they could purchase!

ikea is crap no one will miss them.........

spoken with thai wisdom ... i am sure international readers and investors will be thinking similarly .... thailand is crap ikea will not miss them

[Chang_paarp]

When Ikea do eventually come to Thailand, the aspirational middle class will fill the car parks with their BMW's and Mercs. As they try be like the people they see in USA or Europe.

Ikea's decision not to fulfill these peoples dreams was pure business, the FBA will be one of the major reasons. Ikea do not enter a market untiil there is a strong middle class in the market, in some places it is seen as a tick for the strength of the local economy. It could also be that they see less middle class asparnts in the near future to keep the warehouse staff busy. There will be more than this simple analysis, but these may well be some of the reasons high on the list.

[the gent]

In the consumer world Ikea is synonymous with style at a price the aspirational can afford.

They supply what they think folk on a budget will buy. Their buyers are quite astute in assessing the market and judging by their success it seems they are generally spot on the money.

A foray in a typical store soon reveals just how successful they are: parents buying stuff for student children, first time couples feathering embryonic nests, fatuous double income geriatrics furnishing buy to let hovels, destitute divorced blokes picking up the pieces and just about anyone who needs a few glasses, table mats, etc.,etc.,etc., all flock there because they know that price and a homogenised style are not compromised. There is no shame attached to buying in IKEA not least because in a disposible consumer society it is utterly classless. That is their secret, peddling cheap but with style that offends no one but engages anyone with a pulse.

Of course they would do well in Thailand. It has an emerging class hungry to consume but with a wit and verve current markets cannot satisfy.

That punters on TV cannot understand the phenomenon comes as no surprise but then most are at best a litmus test for the terminally obtuse and profoundly disadvantaged.

[JimmyCA]

Nothing to do with the Ikea decision but I do agree Ikea merchandise is real crap sold mainly to the lower class. It falls apart in a couple of years. I have been a victim and would not buy their crap again.

[the gent]

Nothing to do with the Ikea decision but I do agree Ikea merchandise is real crap sold mainly to the lower class. It falls apart in a couple of years. I have been a victim and would not buy their crap again.

Res ipse loquitur.......

[TAWP]

JimmyCA: Perhaps it says more about the person putting it together than anything else...I've had bookshelfs, beds, tables and chairs from IKEA for many-many years. They all lasted. So well infact that I had them all when moving from place to place and finally had to give them up when leaving the country and come here in the big move.

[JetsetBkk]

Nothing to do with the Ikea decision but I do agree Ikea merchandise is real crap sold mainly to the lower class. It falls apart in a couple of years. I have been a victim and would not buy their crap again.

Res ipse loquitur.......

Stultus est sicut stultus facit...

[coldcrush]

Hey cash in guys/gals, look on the positive since alot of you blab on about how to make money in Thailand all the time...open a stream of shops in competition...

"Thaikea" a great idea....

I should get paid for this......

[rainman]

Ikea is cheap, but mostly good furniture. Beats the cheap furniture produced here in Thailand and sometimes they have some original things you can't find here.

[coldcrush]

IMO its pretty crap compared to good handmade wood furniture, but they do have some modern designs on furnishings and thats probably why they are so good at what they do...

Thaikea bring it on....

[wilko]

Nothing to do with the Ikea decision but I do agree Ikea merchandise is real crap sold mainly to the lower class. It falls apart in a couple of years. I have been a victim and would not buy their crap again.

Res ipse loquitur.......

are you talking about the furniture or the poster - I go for the poster here. Class? Who talks about "class"? - only the bootless and unhorsed, I would imagine.

Some of the things said about IKea - well we're well and truely off topic for good now - aren't we? - is indicative of the ignorance of furniture design of a lot of the posters here.

When it comes to solid wood "hand-made" alternatives.....most of it is a joke...apart from being an eco-nightmare the stuff is badly made from unseasoned wood from un-sustained forest.

I would be ashamed to have almost any of the furniture I see in Thailand in my house.

.......and as for design??????????????????????....are they completely insane?

Edited September 30, 2007 by wilko

[Prakanong]

IKEA are a VERY smart international operator. They have found a way to dominate their niche, whatever you wish to call it. They are successful in every single market I know of, and I've not seen them make any mistakes. Even in Hong Kong, they occupy quite expensive space in Causeway Bay, and have made that a big profitable retail operation.

This become especially poignant that they have decided to defer plans for Thailand. It means they don't think they can be successful. This is quite telling.

They recently opened their second location in Singapore out east in Tampines.

The first one is mobbed each and every night plus weekends.

Dunno about all Thai's liking it but my Ex bought quite a bit last year when we moved into our empty condo. Not much of the furniture but all the glasses, bathroom holders, cushions to go with Thai covers, cutlery etc etc

Edited September 30, 2007 by Prakanong

[quiksilva]

I spoke to IKEA myself and my contact hadn't even heard about this article and he is the one calling the shots on this move.

In fact if you read carefully the only source quoted on this is an unnamed spokesman and a lawyer who may or may not have anything to do with them.

IKEA in fact have only said that it is still under evaluation, which doesn't equate to canceled their plans.

Frankly this all a lot of hullabaloo about nothing, this must have been a slow news day.

[Prakanong]

I spoke to IKEA myself and my contact hadn't even heard about this article and he is the one calling the shots on this move.

In fact if you read carefully the only source quoted on this is an unnamed spokesman and a lawyer who may or may not have anything to do with them.

IKEA in fact have only said that it is still under evaluation, which doesn't equate to canceled their plans.

Frankly this all a lot of hullabaloo about nothing, this must have been a slow news day.

"One" guy with the decision????

Strange situation for a MNC having only one guy to decide on a move to a new country - will make a great MBA case study!

[Phrakhanong]

The lawyer is from the Bangkok office of an international law firm and was only questioned with respect to his thoughts on the government's current stance on the ABL. Nothing in the article suggests he was speaking on behalf of Ikea (and lawyers generally don't make press statements on behalf of their clients (except in big litigation cases). That is what the PR department is for.

The un-named Ikea spokesman would probably be from the firm's PR department and announcing a carefully worded press release. Note that Ikea even disclosed that it already had a company in Thailand that it was in discussions with and that it may still in the future enter the country (including via a franchise relationship). I query whether Ikea is simply softening up the government a bit... put some pressure on them to back down on their current policies. Just a thought.

As for quality of Ikea furniture... which is a complete sideline to the main topic (but interesting nonetheless)... I've found the quality to be variable. Some products seem to stand the test of time, while others fall apart. Some items are designed better/stronger, or built in a factory with better quality control. I've had items purchased 20 years ago that are still in good condition and some that only lasted a few years before the laminex or whatever the coating is started to peal off. Looking through Ikea's latest catalog, I note they do have solid timber furnishings as well. It's not all laminated/painted chipboard.

Edited October 3, 2007 by Phrakhanong

[quiksilva]

I spoke to IKEA myself and my contact hadn't even heard about this article and he is the one calling the shots on this move.

In fact if you read carefully the only source quoted on this is an unnamed spokesman and a lawyer who may or may not have anything to do with them.

IKEA in fact have only said that it is still under evaluation, which doesn't equate to canceled their plans.

Frankly this all a lot of hullabaloo about nothing, this must have been a slow news day.

"One" guy with the decision????

Strange situation for a MNC having only one guy to decide on a move to a new country - will make a great MBA case study!

Oh please! He is in charge of evaluating this project, he is also the guy having to look at establishing the legal entity and identifying sites here. Of course he has to report up the chain.

I will not disclose his name or title, but I can tell you that if he hasn't heard of this article you put it down as speculation. This Swedish gentlemen was also responsible for establishing IKEA in several other regional markets. So it is not unreasonable to say that his call on the project carries a lot of weight. Of course this will eventually have to be put up to various other levels of internal approvals, but for all intents and purposes, at this stage, he is the one calling the shots.

I'm not sure how useful an un-sourced article in a English newspaper will be in softening up the Thai government

[samran]

I spoke to IKEA myself and my contact hadn't even heard about this article and he is the one calling the shots on this move.

In fact if you read carefully the only source quoted on this is an unnamed spokesman and a lawyer who may or may not have anything to do with them.

IKEA in fact have only said that it is still under evaluation, which doesn't equate to canceled their plans.

Frankly this all a lot of hullabaloo about nothing, this must have been a slow news day.

"One" guy with the decision????

Strange situation for a MNC having only one guy to decide on a move to a new country - will make a great MBA case study!

My previous role basically required something similar, though more for one product line into the Asian market. I was responsible for doing the business cases, and informing senior management back in Europe, who of course, held the purse strings.

The fact of the matter is, that having someone on the ground in another country puts them into a position where what they say is held in quite high regard, especially if that person is trusted and has a track record in making the right calls.

Companies who are here tend to have a more objective view of conditions on the ground, and are less swayed by articles written by newspapers in far off lands.

[quiksilva]

I spoke to IKEA myself and my contact hadn't even heard about this article and he is the one calling the shots on this move.

In fact if you read carefully the only source quoted on this is an unnamed spokesman and a lawyer who may or may not have anything to do with them.

IKEA in fact have only said that it is still under evaluation, which doesn't equate to canceled their plans.

Frankly this all a lot of hullabaloo about nothing, this must have been a slow news day.

"One" guy with the decision????

Strange situation for a MNC having only one guy to decide on a move to a new country - will make a great MBA case study!

You are in luck, an excerpt from McKinsey's Global Survey on how companies spend money has just been published in the Bangkok Post, some of which you will find interesting, perhaps you'd like to add this your MBA.

Nearly 40% [of respondents] say the biggest decisions are made by just one or two people.

McKinsey's Global Survey (BKK Post)

Edited October 4, 2007 by quiksilva