Marketing Discussion question

Read the following about IKEA before beginning your discussion  activity .

IKEA has achieved something big. It has become the world’s biggest furniture retailer by selling the same furniture to the people of 41 different countries, representing vastly different cultures with vastly different needs. And it does not seem to be slowing down as it lays out plans to build stores in more and more countries. But adhering to a standardized template for global commerce is only part of the story. IKEA takes great care to properly adapt its stores and offerings so that they appeal to the tastes of each market.

Read the IKEA company case from the textbook Kotler & Armstrong Chapter 19.

The objectives for this case related learning activity are 

· Gain a solid understanding of the concepts of standardizing and adapting and the roles each play in global  marketing .

· Become familiar with the five global product and communications strategies.

· Acquire experience in making decisions for the four elements of the marketing mix in a global context.

· Know the relationship between global sourcing, distribution, and price.

Discuss

Choose one of the following discussion questions to make your initial posting:

1. Does IKEA have a truly global strategy or just a series of regional strategies? Explain.

2. Discuss IKEA’s global strategy in terms of the five global product and communications strategies.

3. If IKEA can sell a sofa in China for $160, why doesn’t it sell the product at that low price in all of its markets?

4. Can competitors easily replicate IKEA’s strategy? Why or why not? 

5. Should IKEA expand more rapidly than 20 to 25 stores per year? Explain.

The initial postings are due on the fourth day of the module at the latest. Be specific, but limit your initial posting to 400 words - bearing in mind that this is a discussion activity, not a research paper.