To create a better everyday life for the many people.

To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. 

As a reference, this is how IKEA defines their vision and business idea: 

You can find more detailed explanations about their values here and their vision in this PDF: This is IKEA (10/2017). 

It is also worth noting that underlying the vision and values of IKEA is a document called The Testament of a Furniture Dealer, which was written by IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad way back in 1976. (Talk about timeless principles!)

So what has IKEA been up to? Being late to online shopping and losing touch with consumers, IKEA is stepping up its digital strategy game. A new app will be coming out later this year that lets customers purchase products directly. 

The previous staple strategy of IKEA was big-box stores in suburbs. To reconnect and create relevance in consumers’ lives, it is experimenting with creating a present in heart of cities like London, Paris, and New York. 

Speaking of experiments, it’s currently exploring furniture subscription service.

Related links:

Did you know IKEA is actually a franchise? IKEA operates under a franchise-model. The owner of the IKEA Concept and the worldwide IKEA franchisor is a company called Inter IKEA Systems B.V. You can learn about IKEA franchising here.

Did you know that this newsletter has a website? It can be found at BuiltOnPurpose.net, and has been recently revamped with a curated compilation of resources - research, reports, articles, and talks - from business thought leaders around the world. It’s a great resource for discovering purpose and putting it in action for your business endeavors. 

See you next issue.