Ikea Bang Na Enjoys Good First Year: Bangkok

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Ikea Bang Na enjoys good first year

KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- More than 3 million people have visited the Ikea store in Bangkok in its first year, local operator Ikano (Thailand) announced yesterday.

The company remains on track with its plan to open second and third Ikea stores in the capital within the next five to 10 years.

Swedish giant Ikea opened its first home furnishing store in Thailand, located at the Mega Bangna shopping complex on Bang Na-Trat Road, on November 3 last year.

"About 40,000 visitors came to our Ikea store on the first day of opening. The number of visitors reached 100,000 over the first three days," said Gannrapee Chatchaidamrong, marketing manager of Ikea Bang Na.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors enter the store on weekdays, and between 15,000 and 20,000 per day on weekends.

"We're quite happy with our first-year results. More than 20 per cent of visitors made purchases, with most spending between Bt2,000 and Bt5,000 per visit," said Gannrapee.

The company earlier faced a stock problem for some furnishing goods due to huge domestic demand, but |this has now settled down to an acceptable level, she added. It has adopted the "Ikea Way" supply-chain-management initiative, which aims to offer all furnishing products under one roof and allow individual customers to fully participate in their shopping process so that they can select and purchase products without assistance.

"We participate with our suppliers over design work. The aim is to allow them to produce quality products with good inspirational and functional benefits and value for money," she said.

Ikea offers some 7,500 home furnishing products at its store in Bang Na. About 95 per cent of them are sourced from suppliers in more than 30 countries around the world, and only 5 per cent are from local suppliers.

About 1,200 product items will be rotated at the Ikea store when it enters the second year of operation.

Gannrapee said Ikea's successful Thai model was based on a project named "New Generation", adopted initially in Thailand in cooperation with the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, by sending its Swedish designer Anna Efverlund to participate in the design process |for making ceramic ware and related products.

The products made under the initiative are now also sold through Ikea's stores in Sweden, Switzerland and Austria.

The local initiative is also being applied in other countries, she added.

Ikea has 334 home furnishing stores in 40 countries. In Southeast Asia, the company has outlets in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

"We expect to see double-digit growth both in sales and the number of visitors to our store in our second year of operation.

"We want to be a top-of-the-mind furnishing retailer in our primary target area, which is a 20-kilometre radius from our store, or 40-45 minutes' driving time. The area covers 2 million households," Gannrapee said.

-- The Nation 2012-11-02

[rixalex]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

[asiawatcher]

If they are only sourcing 5% of supplies from Thailand there must be good opportunity for the Minister of Trade to get off his A and have a chat to Ikea. Creates a lot of employment here as well as value added logistics transport in particular. Whilst I am no advocate of Ikea or some of it's modernistic furnishings, well done.

[kotsak]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Coming from south Europe I have to admit they taste awful :>

[mortenaa]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Guess you don't like cardboard?

[MESmith]

With the "no end in sight property development" going on in Chiang Mai, they should open a store here. They'd make killing.

[rixalex]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Guess you don't like cardboard?

LOL

It's not only the "cardboard" i struggle with, it's the strange greyish sauce the "cardboard" floats in.

[Postmaster]

Why does A Live member go to Ikea to eat ? They are furnishing experts.

[lomatopo]

Mega Bang Na is definitely impressive.

I had never been in an Ikea store until I visited the one in Bang Na. I kind of like it, really good for ideas - sample rooms/bathrooms - if buying/furnishing a house/condo.

[clockman]

What about prices? compared with europe? Anybody checked? Thank you.

[jbrain]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Coming from south Europe I have to admit they taste awful :>

You're talking about the plate of sauce with something that looks like meatballs swimming in, right. Edited November 2, 2012 by jbrain

[IsaanUSA]

I hate IKEA and wish they would go away.

[kriswillems]

What about prices? compared with europe? Anybody checked? Thank you.

The price is about the same (just convert the euro price to baht and you know the price here).

I am no ikea fan, but after bad experiences with locally produced modern furniture of Koncept furniture and Index furniture I decided to switch to Ikea. They are a bit more expensive but the quality is a lot better.

Edited November 2, 2012 by kriswillems

[kotsak]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Coming from south Europe I have to admit they taste awful :>

You're talking about the plate of sauce with something that looks like meatballs swimming in, right.

I am talking about the packaged meatballs

[jbrain]

A lady decides to make a daytrip to Mega Bangna

While strolling around in the Ikea store she notice a nice looking wardrobe which she thinks will fit good in her bedroom, so she takes one home.

The instructions that came with it are very clear and in no time she has mounted the wardrobe.

Everything looks nice untill the first BTS passes, and the whole wardrobe collapses.

Angry she makes a call to the Ikea customer service and the lady promises to send a technician to solve the problem.

Soon he arrives, looks at the issue and mounts the wardrobe again.

To make sure that he can clearly see what happens when a BTS passes he decides to go sit inside the closet.

Of course, knowing Murphy, at that point the farang husband who had a bad day at the office arrivs home.

He is surprised to see his wife standing in the bedroom, sees the new closet, opens the door and notice the technician from Ikea who says with a trembling voice..........

......Sir, I know you not gonna believe this but actually I'm waiting here for the BTS.

• 
  

[Fozfromoz]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Coming from south Europe I have to admit they taste awful :>

You're talking about the plate of sauce with something that looks like meatballs swimming in, right.

Not sure if its the same, but shopped there in Singapore. I think they are called Swedish Meatballs. They taste better than they look, we'll at least the ones there did.

[Rooo]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

Coming from south Europe I have to admit they taste awful :>

You're talking about the plate of sauce with something that looks like meatballs swimming in, right.

I am talking about the packaged meatballs

No wonder they taste bad, you are supposed to take them out of the package.

[Ricardo]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

With lingonberries, and boiled new potatoes, Swedish meatballs in a typical creamy mild flavoured-sauce are a classic Swedish dish, but I'm sure most Swedes would say that their mothers' home-made ones are better !

My own favourite Swedish-food is those chocolate-balls with coconut bits, not good for the waistline, but Happy Memories !

Or perhaps 'Glogg' mulled-wine, at Christmas-time ?

... note to self, time for a trip down to Bangkok !

[EvilDrSomkid]

I hate IKEA and wish they would go away.

Why? You don't have to shop there.

Mrs EDr.S and I love Ikea. Our kitchen comes from Ikea and was installed by a local company.

Most of the furniture I brought with me from Europe is Ikea, as well.

It is easy to get there for us, too. Just a blast down the Nr.9.

Their curtains are good value, too. Compare them to curtains at HomePro. Hall or less.

I might be biased. I am Scandinavian.

Edited November 3, 2012 by EvilDrSomkid

[rixalex]

Why does A Live member go to Ikea to eat ? They are furnishing experts.

He doesn't. They are indeed furnishing experts, but they also happen to serve food. I paid money for their food, ate it, didn't much like it. Am i prohibited from commenting on that because food is not their forte?

[rixalex]

Their meatballs are something of an acquired taste... that i have yet to acquire...

With lingonberries, and boiled new potatoes, Swedish meatballs in a typical creamy mild flavoured-sauce are a classic Swedish dish, but I'm sure most Swedes would say that their mothers' home-made ones are better !

That's the one. There was something bizarre about the consistency of the food. Like it had come from a tin or something. Reminded me of school dinners back in the day when school dinners were truly awful... well they were in the UK anyway.

[jbrain]

I am talking about the packaged meatballs

No wonder they taste bad, you are supposed to take them out of the package.

Well this maybe off topic, but I had a friend who once came home from a night out.

Took a tin of meatballs in tomato sauce out of the kitchen cabinet, and placed it unopened on the electric cooking plate,after which he went to watch some TV.

At one point he heard a strange noise...............and a few days later they repainted the kitchen

[JSixpack]

I hate IKEA and wish they would go away.

What about you going away?

And where are our usual postings declaiming these figures as false and concocted here in DYING THAILAND?

[jbrain]

I hate IKEA and wish they would go away.

What about you going away?

And where are our usual postings declaiming these figures as false and concocted here in DYING THAILAND?

That's what I also wonder about, especially since the baiting member has arrived now.

[IsaanUSA]

I hate IKEA and wish they would go away.

Why? You don't have to shop there.

Personal reasons regarding the company as a whole. I don't shop there. I have nothing against the location in Bang Na, I just do not approve of the company.

[EvilDrSomkid]

I hate IKEA and wish they would go away.

Why? You don't have to shop there.

Personal reasons regarding the company as a whole. I don't shop there. I have nothing against the location in Bang Na, I just do not approve of the company.

Now I am curious. What do you have against the company?