‘We are trying to generate interest in the home furnishing category’

Most Indians were not familiar with Ikea. How did you start brand marketing?

One of the most important things for us was getting to know the consumers in the Indian market. It was important for us to visit the client’s homes, understand the day-to-day activities and see how the home decor played a role in their daily lives. In the early years, we actually visited about 2,000 homes in all the major cities of India, trying to understand what life at home is like in the Indian context. It really helps to have a description of what the consumer behavior was in terms of home furnishing. Another important step for us was to see how our products performed. We actually put Ikea products into customer homes, and really looked at what their usage patterns were.

The third important step was to look at the cultural context of India and connect it with meaning in the context of Ikea’s culture and values.

We saw a lot of similarities and differences and came up with our positioning statement – ‘Make every day bright’.

The idea was to say that we would like consumers in India to see the Ikea product range as a set of well designed, functional, affordable products. And we would also like to see how we can increase the interest in home furnishing among our consumers in the Indian market.

Does Ikea have a blueprint for marketing its products and services in India?

We still don’t have a blueprint. When we entered the Hyderabad market – this was our entry into India – the campaigns that were carried out were huge and there was a need to create awareness for Ikea. In December 2020, the Navi Mumbai store opened at the end of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it was a very silent marketing campaign. In fact, we had a registration-based admissions process in place to ensure that it was a safe shopping experience.

Now, as we look at the next phase where we will launch a small format store in Mumbai – the first such store in India for Ikea – it becomes very important for us to give consumers the option to choose from many different ways . They can go to Ikea.

So, I’d say it’s still too early for us to create a specific marketing template. What we have really tried to do is stay abreast of the ecosystem and the changes taking place and really tailor our marketing campaigns to the needs of the times.

In India, are you focusing on brand acquaintances or on products sold by Ikea?

As a philosophy and ethos at Ikea, we believe that the product range is our hallmark. If you are able to pick up well designed, functional products at such low prices, that more and more people in India can actually buy them, then I would say that is a great job.

Having said that, we are also well aware that we are at an early stage of our journey in the Indian market. We are a nascent brand, trying to create awareness and generate interest in the home furnishing category.

So, it’s really a two-pronged approach. Of course, we want our products and solutions to stand out, but for many Indians who don’t know Ikea, we need to create awareness and desire for the brand.

Are you building brand engagement on a digital platform?

Home furnishing spending in India is very low – about 2.5% in terms of total disposable income available. This is quite low compared to other markets around the world. We need to generate even more interest in home furnishing. We have done a whole series on domestic stories and are continuing to do so. Additionally, we have entered a lot of user-generated content.

People are happy to share their homes on social media platforms and that, in turn, generates a lot of interest in this category.