宜家如何征服世界 拿中國舉例
It took some time to figure out just the right shopping complex, off just the right highway interchange and just the right distance from Seoul, that could accomModate a 624,000-square-foot store—that is to say, one more than three times the size of the average Wal-Mart Supercenter. It took more time to solve certain mysteries, like how big to make the store’s children’s section in a country where kids are often given ample space in the family living quarters. It took more time to figure out how to showcase kitchens that incorporate kimchi refrigerators, a uniquely Korean appliance—and even more time to untangle nuances of the market, like the South Korean’s preference for metal chopsticks.
要規劃出一個恰到好處的購物中心，正好位於某個合適的高速公路出口旁，與首爾的車程還不遠不近，面積高達62萬4千英尺（比一個標準沃爾瑪超市的面積大三倍多），是需要花點時間的。而要解決某些特定難題，比如，在韓國這樣一個孩子在家中享有充足活動空間的國家，購物中心的兒童區該做多大才合理，需要花更多功夫。至於如何佈置一個能容納韓式泡菜冰箱這種韓國特有家電的廚房，就要花上更多時間——而要弄清這個市場的微妙之處，比如韓國人對金屬筷子的偏愛，則又要搭上更多時間。
In all, it took about six years for Ikea to unveil its inaugural store in South Korea, in Gwangmyeong, starting from the first scouting trip. Ikea celebrated the opening in December with a tree planting rather than ribbon cutting. (Chalk that up to Ikea tradition rather than to South Korean custom.)
總而言之，從宜家公司首次考察韓國市場，到在光明市開設第一家韓國分店，花了約整整六年時間。去年12月，宜家用植樹而非剪綵來慶祝這家店開業（沿用了宜家傳統，而不是韓國習俗）。The lag was quintessentially Ikean. “They are ferocious about not expanding too rapidly,” says David Marcotte of consulting firm Kantar Retail. But six years? “The more global, the more complex it gets,” replies Mikael Palmquist, the regional manager of retail for Asia Pacific. “We need to get these things right or we will never be taken seriously.”
這種緩慢是典型的宜家風格。零售諮詢公司Kantar Retail的戴維o馬科特說：“擴張太快會讓他們抓狂的。”但至於要花六年嗎？宜家亞太區區域零售經理米卡埃爾o帕姆奎斯特表示：“公司越是全球化，業務擴張就越複雜。我們必須行事謹慎，否則客戶就永遠不會重視我們。”
Even with all that careful planning, Ikea managed to get a few things wrong. It misjudged the number of parking spaces needed, and a seemingly benign map for sale upset some customers: The body of water east of Korea was labeled the Sea of Japan rather than the East Sea, as South Koreans prefer.
即便規劃如此周詳，宜家還是辦錯了好幾樁事。它錯估了實際所需的停車位數量，還有一張看似友好的地圖卻讓不少客戶很不舒服：朝鮮東部的海被標註爲日本海，而不是韓國人所習稱的東海。But the Koreans seem, for the most part, to have forgiven the Swedes. Today the Gwangmyeong store, which is the company’s largest in the world by shopping area, is on track to become one of Ikea’s top-performing outlets for 2015.
但韓國人看起來大體上已經原諒了這家瑞典巨頭。光明市分店是宜家在全球購物區域面積最大的一家店，現在人氣很旺，有望成爲宜家2015年業績最佳的分店。The success is hardly a fluke. Ikea, it seems, is a genius at selling Ikea—flat packing, transporting, and reassembling its quirky Swedish styling all across the planet. The furniture and furnishings brand is in more countries than Wal-Mart, Carrefour, and Toys “R” Us. China, where Ikea has eight of its 10 biggest stores, is the company’s fastest-growing market. An outlet in Morocco is coming soon, and there are hints that Brazil may not be far off. Meanwhile, Ikea is going meatballs out in India, where it plans to invest about $2 billion over a decade to open 10 stores.
這份成功來得絕非僥倖。宜家似乎是一個營銷天才——扁平式包裝，方便拼裝，那些帶有瑞典風情的傢俱正在銷往全世界。和沃爾瑪、家樂福及玩具反斗城相比，這個瑞典傢俱品牌已打入了更多國家的市場。宜家十大分店中有8家在中國，中國也是該公司增長最快的市場。摩洛哥分店即將開張，還有傳聞說巴西分店也開張在即。同時，宜家打算將其瑞典肉丸賣到印度更多地方，在未來十年投資20億美元，在印度開設十家分店。Getting it right in emerging markets like China and India, where Ikea is well-positioned to capitalize on a growing middle class, is a key factor in its goal of hitting EUR50 billion in sales by 2020. That’s up from EUR28.7 billion in its fiscal 2014 ($39 billion based on the average exchange rate for Ikea’s fiscal year) and almost double its 2005 sales level. Today the Ikea Group has 318 stores, not including the brand’s some four dozen franchised locations; it’s aiming for around 500 by 2020.
抓穩新興市場，是宜家實現2020年銷售突破500億歐元目標的關鍵因素。在中國和印度，宜家已做好市場定位，瞅準當地迅速崛起的中產階級。這是個雄心勃勃的目標：2014財年，宜家的銷售額爲287億歐元，幾乎比2005年的銷售額翻了一番。目前宜家集團擁有318家分店，這還不包括48家特許加盟店；到2020年，宜家的另一個目標是：開店數量達到500家。
