From China to Texas, shoppers love Ikea (Toronto Star, 03 Jun 2006, Page M7)

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From China to Texas, shoppers love Ikea
MAGGIE GALEHOUSE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Toronto Star
03 Jun 2006

Most furniture chains don’t have hardcore fans who camp out in parking lots before grand openings or blog about copycat competition in China. But Ikea is more than a chain. The blue-and-yellow warehouse jammed with low-cost, high-style furniture and housewares is closer to a design revolution.
At company headquarters this spring, project manager Lars Dafnas summed up Ikea’s appeal in just three words: “Natural. Blond. Solid.” It’s a short profile that has cut a long swath through the global furniture market, making Ikea the world’s leading home furnishings retailer.
At a time when ethnicity sells, Ikea balances two seemingly contradictory truths. It remains rooted in Scandinavian design, even as its global reach, toward customers and suppliers, broadens each year.
In-house, Ikea divides all its products into four style groups: Young Swede, Scandinavian, modern and country. You won’t read or hear anything about these divisions in Ikea stores or catalogues, but a big chunk of the company’s output is designed for its own corner of the world. “We are here to be Scandinavian,” said Ikea designer Anna Rosenqvist at the press premiere of Ikea’s Stockholm collection, high-end furniture and accessories slated to hit North American stores in April, 2007. “Ikea must go its own way.’’
For most of us, the Scandinavian way is about light colours and basic functionality.
“It’s dark in Scandinavia half the year, so people try to lighten up their interiors... read more...