IKEA Can Do It – Why Can’t We?

You probably heard the news that IKEA opened its first Indian store in Hyderabad. In case you haven’t, you can view a video of the first day and see how 40,000 people lined up and rushed to get inside the new store; pictures that remind me more of a rock concert than the opening of a DIY furniture store. I also read a newspaper article about the store opening and was simply in awe.

The article states that India’s retail landscape is complex. The middle class spends about US$30 billion of furniture a year, but 95% of those goods are mainly purchased through smaller shops that offer custom-built products. IKEA’s brand stands for mass-produced, affordable and functional products with lean and lightweight design in contrast to bulkier furniture usually found in Indian households. However, IKEA is also known for a good bargain, which appeals to the Indian shopper. But still, how does IKEA think it can actually succeed? The answer is simple and inspiring at the same time:

• IKEA is selling certain products for less than it charges in other countries to adapt to India’s lower income level
• It tailors offerings for local tastes. For example, most Indians don’t use knives so IKEA removed its children cutlery packs and sells four spoons instead
• IKEA employees visited about 1,000 (yes, 1,000) households to understand how people live. They learned that relatives frequently stop by so they added more folding chairs and stools that serve as flexible seating
• Indian women are shorter than European women so some of the cabinet displays are lower
• The IKEA restaurant caters towards the Indian population with more than 1,000 available seats (more than any other IKEA in the world) and vegetarian Swedish meatballs
• Furniture is mainly made out of metal and lifted off the floor because people often clean their floors with water

So why am I talking about India’s retail landscape and how IKEA caters to it? For me, this is a perfect example of adapting a given strategy to a new audience. It’s about creating the perfect experience for a geographic region unknown to IKEA. Instead of sitting at the drawing board and thinking about what might work well and what wouldn’t, IKEA sent employees to Indian households to speak and interact with their end users.

My question to you is, if IKEA can do it, why can’t we in L&D? Why do we, more often than not, still not leverage usability testing, talk and interact with our learners when creating learning for them? IKEA’s example shows how crucial user testing is in order to create an experience that truly makes a difference. A learning experience that is catered towards the real needs of the learners will be more successful. Yes, it might take us a bit longer upfront to build the training, but isn’t it worth it in the end, if our learners will not only use the content we offer them, but change their behaviours because of it?

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