Special Academic Support

Home

Order Now

IKEA: SWOT, McKinsey 7S, Porters Diamond Analyses

—

by

admin
in
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Click Here To Order Now!

IKEA: SWOT, McKinsey 7S, Porters Diamond Analyses

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Ikea is a business leader in terms of sales of products and services within the UK market and across Europe, which translates into a strong and stable market presence for its furniture and home appliances. Ikea offers very attractive customer care, discounts, and price-friendly products and services as part of the competitive advantage strategy. The company has multiple products and services as part of portfolio balance to minimise the effects of market swings in one sector of business. Ikea has been in operations for more than five decades, from the year 1943 (Ikea 2016). Thus, strong brand image and knowledge of the market is a plus for its business activities as illustrated in appendix 1.

Weakness

Due to the existence of several alternatives existing in the market, Ikea has become a victim of high brand bargaining power since product switching is very easy, especially for the ready-to-assemble-furniture brand. Besides, the company is not effectively rolling out its franchise and vertical integration strategies (Ikea 2016).

Opportunities

The companys strong brand image can be used to roll out new products in the UK market and beyond. The company might also diversify the current products to appeal to more customer segments through simple adjustments on design and functionality. The company also has the opportunity to improve on its current marketing strategies since it generates a lot of revenues (Ikea 2016).

Threats

Stiff competition from companies such as Argos is threatening the current gains the company has made in the market as indicated in appendix 2.

7S by McKinsey

The main elements of 7S as proposed by McKinsey are strategy, structure, systems, shared values, skills, style, and staff as summarised in Appendix 3. Ikea has balanced these aspects and they are currently positively skewed towards the growth strategies in product development within the UK market.

Value Chain

Ikea is strategic and responsive to the needs of its customers through product distribution, along with the customer centricity business model. For instance, the current model for managing the supply chain at Ikea assumes the linear strategy where different products are distributed based on need and targeted market. The current supply chain is also dynamic to changes in the market through the integration of different distributors and agents across the UK and Europe markets, as part of the business functionality (Dagnino & Rocco 2009).

Balanced Score Card

Since Ikea operate within a competitive market in the UK and other parts of the globe, the company has series of success factors such as innovation, financial standing, effective customer management, and efficient internal business process (Cheverton 2011). Specifically, Ikeas retail business model has been effective in aligning its business objectives with the underlying factors that influence business sustainability as summarized in appendices 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Porters Diamond Analysis

Factor Conditions

Ikea has a very strong financial arm that has guaranteed sustainable investment in product differentiation (Cone 2011). The company also has a diverse portfolio in the form of home appliances, accessories, and furniture besides the highly skilled labour force.

Demand Conditions

The companys products are used daily by clients, especially home accessories and appliances. This makes the demand for Ikea products high within the global markets, especially within the companys furniture brand (Cone 2011).

Related Industries

Ikea has formulated a series of business partnerships with other firms such as the Simsbury, TML, and DHL as a strategy for sustaining its foreign markets. Also, the company has franchised some of the appliances brands as an expansion strategy to gain competitive advantage (Kluger 2011).

Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry

Ikeas brands such as flat-pack houses, CIGS solar panels, Medium-Density Fibreboard technology in furniture, and DUKTIG toy line are very innovative. These brands have created a sustainable and proactive business environment for the company in the UK and across the globe (Ikea 2016).

Accounting

Ikeas financial standing has been stable for the last decade. The total sale for the 2015 financial year was recorded at $35.7 billion, which is 11.2% higher than the previous year. The total assets also grew from $340 billion in the year 2009 to $423 billion by the end of the 2015 financial year. The liabilities of Ikea rose from $961.82 million in 2013 to $1,242.50 million by the end of the 2015 financial year. Considering the positive performance, Ikea is in a position to sustain growth and business in the foreseeable future.

Resource Audit

Ikea has strategies and channels in place to guarantee optimal resource utilization for maximum productivity. The current production culture embodies efficiency through value maintenance, soft skills, and proper balance between the long-term and short-term resource utilization.

Cultural Paradigm

The physical work environment at Ikea encourages effectiveness in employee performance since there are a series of structured congenial and motivational attributes. These structures promote comfort, convenience, job security, and career growth. At present, Ikea is among the top ten global brands with the happiest workforce. The company has systems to guarantee stable work conditions, welfare support, and teamwork.

Recommendations

Based on the challenge competition and high brand bargaining power as identified in the above analysis, Ikea should consider the introduction of competitive pricing, multiple product development, and unique market targeting to increase its competitive advantage currently enjoyed by Ikea, especially in the furniture brand (Kotler & Keller 2012). This is in line with the cognitive strategy proposed by Mintzberg, which proposes that marketers should embrace an exceedingly organized and expansive separation system in planning market division approaches (Witcher & Chau 2010).

This approach is instrumental in setting up the broadest conceivable instrument for product positioning to improve profits for particular elements, which make the item exceptional and engaging target customers (Robbins, Millicent, & Jones 2010). Besides, Ikea should reduce the effects of high brand bargaining power through the creation of multiple products from a single product to an environment of self-competition, especially in the home appliances and accessories brand (Eugene & Michael 2009; Robbins, Millicent, & Jones 2010). This strategy will create an environment of own competition besides increasing benefits from economies of scale.

Reference List

Cheverton, P 2011, Key marketing skills: strategies, tools, and techniques for marketing success, Kogan Page, London.

Cone, S 2011, Steal these ideas: Marketing secrets that will make you a star, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Dagnino, G & Rocco, E 2009, Competition strategy: theory, experiments, and cases, Rutledge, New York.

Eugene, F & Michael, C 2009, Financial management theory and practice, South-Western Cengage Learning, USA.

Ikea 2016, The Ikea concept. Web.

Kotler, P & Keller, K 2012, Marketing management, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Robbins, T, Millicent, B & Jones, M 2010, OB: The essentials, Pearson, Melbourne.

Appendix 1

Ikeas SWOT

Strengths Weaknesses
  • Strategic product differentiation
  • Strong brand image
  • High product quality
  • Established distribution network
  • High turn over the cost of doing business
  • Limited product brands
Opportunities Threats
  • Further market expansion through new and existing products
  • Vertical integration will improve the distribution network
  • Strong competition
  • High power of suppliers and market forces

Appendix 2

Argos SWOT

Strengths Weaknesses
  • Clear product delineation
  • Strong brand representation
  • Positive urban pressure
  • Established traditional store
  • Failure to concentrate on the low-end customer segment
  • High business costs
Opportunities Threats
  • Strong presence depicts market leadership
  • Better partnership with supplementary companies
  • Fierce rivalry from Ikea
  • High supplier power lowers profits
  • The threat of imitation

Appendix 3

Strategy: Cost-effective production and distribution network
Structure: Diverse business interests
Systems: Modern IT support
Shared Values: Unique organization culture
Skills: Over two decades of business experience
Style: Customer centricity business model
Staff: Skilled and efficient workforce

Appendix 4

Perspective: Learning and Innovation

Key success factor Strategy
Business environment improvement The emergence of the supply chain and marketing strategies into sustainable business operations model
An effective and organised workforce Ikea micromanages its workforce through a series of motivational rewards and training
Improving the modern and traditional business platforms The company has effective retail and online business platform
Creating a flexible learning environment The company has one of the most efficient in the business operational model due to product diversity

Appendix 5

Perspective: Internal Business Process

Key success factor Strategy
Efficiency in the internal audit channel The company has introduced systems that manage business process and efficient operations management
Managing the business processes The company generates optimal management reports
Effectiveness in product and service delivery The company has systems that can track the actual performance against the expected targets
Micromanaging the supply chain The current supply chain management strategy is effective

Appendix 6

Perspective: Customer

Key success factor Strategy
Stratification of different market segments The company has very high repeat customer rates in the industry besides a proactive customer care department
Management of customer demands Product and service improvements in the company are done based on customer feedback findings
Customer satisfaction The company is known for quality products and services that are price-friendly
Feedback reporting The company uses customer feedback to design its effective marketing strategies

Appendix 7

Perspective: Financial

Key success factor Strategy
A sustainable financial management system The company has experts who use international accounting information reporting standards
Improving the daily returns tracker The company has systems in place to track the activities of an accountant and its financial revenues to minimise fraud and avoidable losses
Expanding the profitability At least 15% of the net profits are pumped back into the business each year to improve on the companys profitability
Rationalised financial investment Financial investments are carried out after cost-benefit analysis by experts
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Click Here To Order Now!