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▼ Ikea Cuts Prices on 600 Furniture Items in Japan Amid Intense Competition
- Category:Shopping
Ikea Japan K.K. on Thursday lowered the price of about 600 items sold in Japan to appeal to customers amid severe competition from rivals, including domestic home furnishings chain Nitori Holdings Co. and online competitors.
The products include tables, sofas and other popular goods. Price reductions will be applied to more items through next spring, according to the Japanese branch of the global furniture retail giant. In the end, the discounts will average about 22 percent on a total of 886 products, the company founded in Sweden said.
“We want to offer really good products with lower prices because we want to stimulate home furnishing interest in Japan,” Ikea Japan President Helene von Reis said in a recent interview with The Japan News, adding,
“The Japanese market is maybe beginning to feel a little bit positive” partly thanks to the Olympics and Paralympics to be held in 2020 in Tokyo.
“I think Japanese consumers deserve to be able to furnish a beautiful and functional home. You should not have to spend a lot of money to buy good, sustainable products,” the Sweden native said.
Although sharing services such as Uber and Airbnb have enjoyed brisk business in recent years, consumers are not necessarily less interested in buying things, but have higher demands when making a purchase, von Reis said. “They are more picky about which brand they choose to buy from.” She also pointed out that retailers worldwide face “transforming and challenging times” because of the rising popularity of online markets and the sharing economy.
According to the president, the key to attracting such choosy customers is whether a company can demonstrate vision and inspire loyalty to the company’s brand. She said Ikea is an “authentic company” that has succeeded globally because it is easy to understand “what Ikea stands for and what Ikea sells.”
Ikea currently operates nine outlets across Japan and will open a new shop in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, in October. Von Reis has been in her current position since August 2016.
The products include tables, sofas and other popular goods. Price reductions will be applied to more items through next spring, according to the Japanese branch of the global furniture retail giant. In the end, the discounts will average about 22 percent on a total of 886 products, the company founded in Sweden said.
“We want to offer really good products with lower prices because we want to stimulate home furnishing interest in Japan,” Ikea Japan President Helene von Reis said in a recent interview with The Japan News, adding,
“The Japanese market is maybe beginning to feel a little bit positive” partly thanks to the Olympics and Paralympics to be held in 2020 in Tokyo.
“I think Japanese consumers deserve to be able to furnish a beautiful and functional home. You should not have to spend a lot of money to buy good, sustainable products,” the Sweden native said.
Although sharing services such as Uber and Airbnb have enjoyed brisk business in recent years, consumers are not necessarily less interested in buying things, but have higher demands when making a purchase, von Reis said. “They are more picky about which brand they choose to buy from.” She also pointed out that retailers worldwide face “transforming and challenging times” because of the rising popularity of online markets and the sharing economy.
According to the president, the key to attracting such choosy customers is whether a company can demonstrate vision and inspire loyalty to the company’s brand. She said Ikea is an “authentic company” that has succeeded globally because it is easy to understand “what Ikea stands for and what Ikea sells.”
Ikea currently operates nine outlets across Japan and will open a new shop in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, in October. Von Reis has been in her current position since August 2016.
- August 26, 2017
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