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Description: Estimates stated that approximately 4,000 customers lined up for last week’s opening of Canada’s 13th Ikea store in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Having exited the city about 30 years ago, Ikea’s new store seemed to be quite welcome, at least judging  by those waiting in line for their chance to be first at the Swedish retailer’s wares. Many of the 4,000 customers camped out overnight in damp weather to claim their spot in line.

Date: September 27, 2017

Source: cbc.ca

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ikea-opens-halifax-dartmouth-1.4309016

Discussion Points:

1) What has Ikea done right to create such customer commitment?

2) Would you be prepared to camp out overnight in a damp environment to be among the first to shop at a new retail establishment? If so, which one?

3)  The story tells us that the Halifax area was actually home to the first Ikea in all of North America. Why do you think the company may have chosen that location to launch its North American beachhead all those years ago?

One Response to “Now that’s customer loyalty!”

  1. Riley Landry

    1. IKEA has undoubtedly created a committed customer basis. IKEA consistently continues to demonstrate the mantra of always putting customers first and subsequently impressing them. It has continued to dedicate itself to value and service, while constantly appreciating its customers. IKEA’s mission is to simply help its customers improve their “everyday life”. In other terms, they work to ensure that the customer comes first. The company also wants to improve the lives of “the many people” through quality, affordable, valued service and goods. When any organization commits to making its customers a key component of its organizational purpose, team members are more likely to provide value.

    2. Zara would be one business that I would be willing to camp overnight to see the opening. This is because, Zara tends to have such a high inventory turnover rate, meaning that every week or 2 they change all the stock in their store, so if you want to purchase an article of clothing, you need to get it right then and there or else it won’t be there when you get a chance to return. Also, the quality and low prices of Zara’s clothing makes me a committed customer when it comes to purchasing their brand. I also enjoy the history of Zara, and the fact that they actually don’t have just one designer. They have multiple designers, that copy the latest trends and produce them for cheaper than the leading brand. Having such a high inventory turn over rate also means that the selection and variety of clothing options to purchase is very high. That is another reason why I would be prompted to stay overnight, as the wide variety makes it exciting to choose options.

    3. One of the possibilities that justifies why IKEA opened in Halifax years ago could be based on the fact that Halifax has such a high unemployment rate. Another reason why it was the first location is because Halifax simply wasn’t a big enough city back then to have big furniture/decor stores, that would be competitors towards IKEA. Provinces like Ontario and Quebec however, are home to multiple huge successful furniture chains that would cause competitive conflict between themselves and IKEA.

    Reply

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