This retail development center, as an innovative "institution" itself, is also very "new" in form. It is not an independ
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2024 5:44 am
This retail development center, as an innovative "institution" itself, is also very "new" in form. It is not an independent office or an institution, but an initiative that is deeply integrated with the growth+ strategy for the next three years launched by IKEA China in fiscal year 2024.
According to Anze Pang, President and Chief Sustainability Officer list of macedonia whatsapp phone numbers IKEA China, the business of the Retail Development Center should be based on daily work and customer service. Therefore, IKEA does not think that setting up a separate department is the key approach. Instead, integrating it into daily life and emphasizing full participation and cross-departmental cooperation can enable the Retail Development Center to run closely in parallel with the daily operations of IKEA China, thereby allowing IKEA to maintain its competitiveness and innovation in a rapidly changing retail environment.
This also means that the strategic significance of the Retail Development Centre is not only to promote meaningful retail innovation, but also to inject continuous development momentum into IKEA in China.
At present, the Retail Development Center is integrated into IKEA China’s three-year development strategy “Growth+”, and in the early stage it focuses on three major development areas: “digital empowerment”, “improvement of logistics service capabilities”, and “demand-driven home solutions and localized content”.
First, digital empowerment. Emphasis is placed on providing digital technology and tool foundations for IKEA's other core strategies to optimize internal processes and work efficiency. For example, IKEA is constantly improving its logistics management system and using AI and GenAI technologies to enhance customer experience.
Secondly, IKEA focuses on improving two core capabilities: logistics service capabilities, and the ability to develop home furnishing solutions and localized content that are highly relevant to demand.
Digital empowerment allows IKEA to have a better understanding of product and service design and brand content communication, and to always focus on customers and establish continuous links at a deeper level. Every year, IKEA launches specific products for different channels and different groups of people, such as nearly 3,000 products related to the theme of sleep in fiscal year 2025. Making these products more local and more in line with demand is the direction IKEA is working towards.
In recent years, IKEA has been using China as a source of retail and digital innovation.
IKEA's Digital Innovation Center, established in Shanghai in 2019, is exploring digital transformation in multiple areas including 3D space design, social media, big data and in-store customer experience. The digital design software developed by the center visualizes home decoration concepts. After its first launch in China, it has now been promoted to IKEA's 31 markets around the world, including China.
Song Yingai, deputy CEO of IKEA China, told "Retail Krypton Planet" that the Chinese market is very advanced in online and logistics services. In particular, the automation and robotics technology currently used by IKEA China can replace repetitive labor, reduce costs and increase efficiency, thus creating space for more price concessions.
In recent years, IKEA China has made many innovations and products in the field of logistics services. CEOs of different IKEA markets have come to China to learn from them. After working with the Chinese team for 4-5 days, Tolga Encu, President of Global Retail at Ingka Group, said, "I wish I had a bigger suitcase so I could take all these good results away."
Pang Anze believes that an important goal of the Retail Development Center is to coordinate the realization of the goals of IKEA's three-year growth+ strategy released in the 2024 fiscal year, focusing on the three strategic directions of strengthening home life experts, creating outstanding personalized shopping experiences, and achieving an organically growing omni-channel ecosystem.
02
The strategy to survive the cycle: Continue to strengthen the basic skills of low prices and brand
According to Anze Pang, President and Chief Sustainability Officer list of macedonia whatsapp phone numbers IKEA China, the business of the Retail Development Center should be based on daily work and customer service. Therefore, IKEA does not think that setting up a separate department is the key approach. Instead, integrating it into daily life and emphasizing full participation and cross-departmental cooperation can enable the Retail Development Center to run closely in parallel with the daily operations of IKEA China, thereby allowing IKEA to maintain its competitiveness and innovation in a rapidly changing retail environment.
This also means that the strategic significance of the Retail Development Centre is not only to promote meaningful retail innovation, but also to inject continuous development momentum into IKEA in China.
At present, the Retail Development Center is integrated into IKEA China’s three-year development strategy “Growth+”, and in the early stage it focuses on three major development areas: “digital empowerment”, “improvement of logistics service capabilities”, and “demand-driven home solutions and localized content”.
First, digital empowerment. Emphasis is placed on providing digital technology and tool foundations for IKEA's other core strategies to optimize internal processes and work efficiency. For example, IKEA is constantly improving its logistics management system and using AI and GenAI technologies to enhance customer experience.
Secondly, IKEA focuses on improving two core capabilities: logistics service capabilities, and the ability to develop home furnishing solutions and localized content that are highly relevant to demand.
Digital empowerment allows IKEA to have a better understanding of product and service design and brand content communication, and to always focus on customers and establish continuous links at a deeper level. Every year, IKEA launches specific products for different channels and different groups of people, such as nearly 3,000 products related to the theme of sleep in fiscal year 2025. Making these products more local and more in line with demand is the direction IKEA is working towards.
In recent years, IKEA has been using China as a source of retail and digital innovation.
IKEA's Digital Innovation Center, established in Shanghai in 2019, is exploring digital transformation in multiple areas including 3D space design, social media, big data and in-store customer experience. The digital design software developed by the center visualizes home decoration concepts. After its first launch in China, it has now been promoted to IKEA's 31 markets around the world, including China.
Song Yingai, deputy CEO of IKEA China, told "Retail Krypton Planet" that the Chinese market is very advanced in online and logistics services. In particular, the automation and robotics technology currently used by IKEA China can replace repetitive labor, reduce costs and increase efficiency, thus creating space for more price concessions.
In recent years, IKEA China has made many innovations and products in the field of logistics services. CEOs of different IKEA markets have come to China to learn from them. After working with the Chinese team for 4-5 days, Tolga Encu, President of Global Retail at Ingka Group, said, "I wish I had a bigger suitcase so I could take all these good results away."
Pang Anze believes that an important goal of the Retail Development Center is to coordinate the realization of the goals of IKEA's three-year growth+ strategy released in the 2024 fiscal year, focusing on the three strategic directions of strengthening home life experts, creating outstanding personalized shopping experiences, and achieving an organically growing omni-channel ecosystem.
02
The strategy to survive the cycle: Continue to strengthen the basic skills of low prices and brand