Requirements For Obtaining And Renewing A 2 Year Driving Licence

[doppa]

personally i think the branding, product range suits the current attitude of the world, which has become in my eyes a 'throw away' world, ikea stepped into that niche perfectly, offering a huge range of products at reasonable prices, enabling there customers to totally change the look of a 'room' without busting the bank to do it.

they continue to upgrade their products, ikea have stood so far, the test of time, their marketing strategy must be pretty good, lets face it, you can only sell cheap shit for a short period before your found out.

in conclusion i like ikea, i like the stores, i like their product ranges, now whether they rid their 'cheap' image remains to be seen, skoda had this problem maybe 20yrs ago, but now with a new generation, their cars are deemed to be reliable, built well etc, now hands up , who on here still wouldnt buy a skoda.

[elektrified]

Priceless said:

Could you please explain what I "should know better"? I was merely pointing out that they seem to do things right "from a business point standpoint", which is exactly what their growth proves. Having spent most of my adult life in business, I have a lot of respect for people who do that right.

I have not said that I would like to have an IKEA in Chiang Mai. What i was doing was arguing with the "cheap shit" statement in the post that I replied to. I would however argue that IKEA is providing mid-range products at exceptional value for money, which has been the key to their success.

Incidentally, when I moved here in 2006 I brought a whole lot of IKEA furniture with me, including bookcases, a dining table, chairs, a leather sofa etc, etc. It was all used for, on average, five years before arriving here and it is all still looking as good as when it arrived. Thaifan2's idea that it would not stand up to the climate is obviously wrong.

/ Priceless

Exactly the point I made as well. IKEA is providing mid-range products at exceptional value for the money that last for a long time. I gather Priceless is from Sweden when he says that he brought his IKEA furniture with him? I wish I still had all of my IKEA furnishings that I owned in Europe with me here. All the Thai made furnishings I have purchased are wearing out after 3-4 years.

[chiangmaiexpat]

I was told that Ikea made an attempt in Thailand in the early 90s which had failed, but it seems that consumer tastes have changed quite a bit since then. Stores like Koncept, Index, SB Furniture have already paved the way for Ikea-esque products and made them popular with (mostly younger) locals, so that the Swedish company might face an uphill battle with these competitors now. They might be able to play the prestige card and place their product line above the competition. This would be a bit unusual considering Ikea's typical marketing, but then again Thailand isn't Europe. Self-transportation and self-assembly might not work in that market, though. Which can be fixed easily... given cheap labour.

Cheers, CMX

[SantiSuk]

I thought it was their range of accessories and smaller furniture items that made them a stand out store, rather than their mainstream furniture. They are a blessing for their range and the Scandinavian design concept they bring and a curse for their addictiveness. My ex-wife was hooked from the off in the UK and I wasted far too many weekend hours stuck in traffic in the Croydon area of London waiting to get into the store's car park in the late 80s and 90s. Hope I can keep my 2nd wife away from this piece of news!

[Thaifan2]

I thought it was their range of accessories and smaller furniture items that made them a stand out store, rather than their mainstream furniture. They are a blessing for their range and the Scandinavian design concept they bring and a curse for their addictiveness. My ex-wife was hooked from the off in the UK and I wasted far too many weekend hours stuck in traffic in the Croydon area of London waiting to get into the store's car park in the late 80s and 90s. Hope I can keep my 2nd wife away from this piece of news!

Thats my point .There is some kind of miss placed hysteria connected with Ikea .

[Tywais]

Guess I've been here too long, had no idea what an IKEA was.

IKEA - Thailand

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I am very curious how the IKEA business model will work in Thailand...I predict that it will not work out.

Back home (USA), it was great - sorta cool-looking, inexpensive housewares. Delivery was not free, in fact it was expensive, but no matter - we could pile our finds into our SUVs or station wagons or whatever, take them home, spend a few agonizing hours assembling the things. Repeat again in a few months.

Fast forward to now, when many of us live in Thailand and ride motorbikes. At many stores, delivery is free, and sometimes even same-day. When I ordered a large piece of furniture from Index a few months ago, they brought it to me free of charge (a couple of weeks after purchase), and assembled it themselves!! I was astounded at such customer service. My Thai coworkers looked at me like I was nuts when I mentioned how cool that was. AND, I think the price of the Index furniture is, while fairly expensive for Thailand, still cheaper than IKEA in the US.

So...unless IKEA retools their model to suit this country, I don't see it working out. Thoughts?

I completely agree.

However... you could easily say the same about the fast food chains... Thailand has excellent restaurants, with loads of waitresses to take your order, deliver the food, and all cheap. Thailand has excellent and cheap fried chicken. Now enter a franchise from Kentucky, where you can queue up at the counter yourself, to pay significantly more money for significantly more bland fried chicken. And it's a huge success.

So, just like McDonalds and other fast food places are actually considered up-market by Thais, Ikea will likely go for that same trendy / up-market niche as well. (The "But.. it's from EUROPE!"-mentality that's still going very strong. )

[Phil Conners]

I don't understand the Ikea haters (or dislikers or whatever) - if you don't like it don't shop there.

I'm sure they will be very successful, as they have been everywhere else in the world, and I look forward to shopping there, even if it will be a rather long drive up from Pattaya.

[zippydedodah]

Not so sure if just having a good business model that works in (some) other parts of the world will qualify a company for success here in thailand. One company comes to mind that is a big success in USA, Korea, etc... COSTCO. I heard that they failed miserably and had to shut down their stores in England... why? Because the brits (so i was told by a gentleman in retail food sales worldwide) did not have the room or the inclination to buy in bulk... they prefer going to their little shops and keeping small amounts in their small homes/apartments. Having lived in London for 2 yrs, i could see the logic in his statement.

I agree that times, cultures, peoples change.. as mentioned on another thread.. who would have thought the thais would have a love affair with pizza? And they still produce very little (and for me, poor) cheese.

So... if IKEA wants to jump into the fray and take on Koncept, Index, etc... and bring more choices to the market place... good on em!

[HaleySabai]

The McDonalds of furniture.

Perfect for the McMansion in the McMoobaan.

I agree, the stuff is all bun and no burger. The furniture is junk but they do have some good modular storage and kitchen ideas for function in small spaces.

[HaleySabai]

Do we get the frozen Swedish meatballs now