The volume of E-commerce has multiplied.

Over the past more than 10 years, the volume of E-commerce transactions has multiplied, from obscurity to becoming the mainstream of the retail business, but also with its destructive innovation of the power of the entire traditional enterprise hundreds of years to establish a commercial system crisis. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Barnes Bookstore, Suning, Gome and a large number of traditional retail companies in the mud, but at the same time they are struggling to embrace this trend.

But Ikea seems to be a freak of the house. In fiscal year 2013 (September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013),, some 1.3 billion netizens visited Ikea's website, a figure that grew by nearly 20% per cent compared with the previous year, while the number of its offline stores dropped by 1%, although Ikea added 5 stores in the fiscal year.

E-commerce also seems to be eroding into the Swedish traditional Home retail giant's territory, but the new chief executive, Peter Agnefjäll, said in a media interview early in 2014: "While seeing the rapid development of E-commerce, But at least for the next considerable period of time to pull the company's sales growth is the absolute mainstay of the entity store, so the company will continue to focus on the expansion of new stores, rather than e-commerce. This means that Ikea's long-term strategic goal of selling revenue to 50 billion euros (about $69.4 billion trillion) by 2020 will depend largely on the expansion of existing stores and new stores. This kind of argument seems to be incompatible with the development of this era, in the past more than 10 years of the craziest development of E-commerce, Ikea is speeding up the expansion of the line, the number of physical stores to achieve doubled the increase.

But Ikea's performance seems to prove that the strategy is effective at least in the short term. Ikea's sales have doubled in the past 10 years, along with the expansion of offline stores. In fiscal 2013, the company's sales revenue reached 28.5 billion euros (about 39.5 billion US dollars), up 3.2% from a year earlier, achieving net profit of 3.3 billion euros (about 4.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 3.1% from a year earlier. In addition, the market share of Ikea in almost every country in the 2013 fiscal year is rising. This is invaluable in the context of the European debt crisis and the increase in global economic uncertainty.

This kind of commercial phenomenon makes us ponder, in this electronic commerce to cuikulaxiu the potential challenge traditional business era, Ikea why can stay aloof from? Its case can bring to the fear of other traditional enterprises what reference meaning? Faced with the impact of Internet and E-commerce, the heart of the traditional enterprise is fear, this time Ikea case has its special significance.

Why does Ikea stay outside the wave of the electricity business?

While Ikea's performance continues to grow steadily, but it has been treating the electric dealer noncommittal attitude and slow action has been criticized, but Ikea seems to have really proud of the capital, special category advantages, the whole industry chain business model and ingenuity of the operating strategy can indeed make him in the face of the electricity business more calmly.

√ The special advantages of home category

The IKEA performance, which ignores the trend of the electricity quotient, has not declined, but is still growing according to the established rhythm, which has a great relationship with the particularity of the business category.

From the point of view of category characteristics, home electric business is faced with two major problems. The first when it is rushing is the shopping experience, with 3C, books and clothing and shoes and hats and other standards or relative to the standard products than home obviously more focus on the experience of the scene, a product in addition to their own appearance, materials, etc. to meet the needs of consumers, but also with other items at home can be organically paired together, many times consumers need to see, Touch, feel, can be assured to buy. Home purchase is also a major asset for the family, the use of a longer period of time, so the purchase will be relatively cautious. The second is the "last kilometer" problem which is difficult to solve at present. Home belongs to the bulky goods, need to take special express delivery logistics, but currently able to provide this professional services are not many companies. In addition to distribution, many products also have installation, maintenance and maintenance and other needs, this is simple online sales difficult to solve the problem.

In short, because the household products pay more attention to the shopping experience, on the one hand, most consumers do not have the habit of online shopping, on the other hand, even if the net purchase, return rate will be relatively high, coupled with the inconvenience of logistics and high costs, home electrical business can be said to be difficult. From the global point of view, the home electric dealers are not now mainstream, the line of penetration is not high.

√ The business model of the whole industry chain

2013 "Double 11" Eve, including incredibly home, Red Star United States Kai Lung, Kat JSWB, Eurasia and other domestic and foreign 19 home stores to boycott the cat promotion, a time of speculation, and Ikea is not in this list. This reflects the self and platform of two business models in the face of the impact of e-commerce in different living conditions.

In essence, incredibly home, hongxing and other home stores and cat is a similar business model, that is, "commercial real estate", itself is not engaged in production and sales, but through investment attract a large number of businesses settled in order to rent or commission as the main profit model. So the two business models are essentially conflict, and the impact of E-commerce on the former is very large, so there is a boycott of the above events.

Ikea's business model is completely self-employed, the commodity self-marketing, relying on the sale of the difference to obtain income. In the case of developed countries, self-reliance is a more mainstream business model, because this model puts users ' needs in a more important position, and relies on large-scale sales to promote the efficiency of the overall retail supply chain and cost savings. Self-owned also makes the supply chain of the core link control in their hands, in the face of electricity or to the transformation of the electricity business compared to the simple store is also more leisurely, so we see such as the Red Star, such as the United States and other stores are also trying to electric dealers, but not successful.

In addition, IKEA controls the product design, modelling, material selection, OEM selection/management, logistics design, store management of the entire process, and constantly committed to each link cost savings and efficiency of the promotion, by creating more than expected low-cost products for consumers to gain a strong brand advantage, This is more difficult to match the above stores.

Electric business is a "go to channel" movement, and Ikea is not a simple channel, but also a core competitiveness of the retail brand, strong brand still in the era of E-commerce has a strong appeal. For Ikea, with the cat, Beijing-east and other electric business platform is also more cooperative relations, rather than direct competition.

√ The operation strategy of ingenuity

Compared to the extensive operation of traditional retail enterprises in China, Ikea is unique, creating a differentiated operating advantage, which is mainly reflected in the low price, creating a special shopping experience and member marketing.

First look at the low price. Ikea has always been to do "people can afford household goods" as the core concept, not to give up in every aspect of the opportunity to cut costs, and the above end of the whole industry chain business model also more guarantee the price competitiveness of Ikea products.

The second is the shopping experience. Ikea's shopping malls have gone beyond mere home buying and selling venues, creating a lifestyle shopping environment that increases consumer experience and extra spending in the store. Relying on this way, Ikea realizes the great difference with the online shopping, attracts more and more consumers to patronize frequently. Ikea has about 3,000 new products each year, consumers every time to the store will be found, and will buy a lot of things outside the plan, "impulsive purchase" occupies a large proportion of its sales.

Finally look at the affiliate marketing. Ikea has been attaching great importance to the construction of membership system, established a member club called "IKEA Accessibility", and has developed tens of millions of loyal members worldwide. On this basis, IKEA uses advanced CRM system to classify members, provide targeted help, and provide personalized promotional programs. and the annual mailing of the exquisite catalogue and the frequent surprise of the member stores to help Ikea to the user's loyalty, will be deeply tied to their own sales platform.

Be careful to change, Ikea is on the way

Although the current impact of E-commerce on the home industry is not very obvious, and after more than 70 years of operating IKEA has also established its own core competitive advantage, but the tide of technology is rolling forward, no industry can completely stay out of it, in this respect Ikea is also careful to change the road.

√ E-commerce

Although Ikea firmly believes that the biggest stage of the product of this kind of experience is home or online, E-commerce will never become the mainstream of Ikea, but Ikea is gradually embracing this trend.

As of August 31, 2013, IKEA has more than 300 outlets in 26 countries or regions around the world, including E-commerce services in 13 countries and 3 in the 2012 fiscal year. However, Ikea in many markets to provide online shopping is not complete, but also for consumers of online purchase orders to charge expensive distribution costs.

Ikea did not disclose the proportion of its e-commerce sales to total revenue, but the head of its German branch said in an interview with Reuters that the online sales of Ikea's German branch in fiscal year 2013 amounted to € 92 million (about $128 million trillion), although that figure accounted for only 2% of its overall sales. Growth is up to 27%. He predicts that the percentage of online sales will eventually reach 10%.

For Ikea, in addition to the two major natural problems of the category mentioned above, home is also a kind of very state of consumption, shopping cycle longer, the user is difficult to persist, it will aggravate the marketing costs of enterprises, this is IKEA in the future in the constant attempt to overcome the problem of electric business.

√ Mobile internet

For E-commerce, IKEA does have insurmountable obstacles, it is difficult to make the determination to invest more, but mobile is a trend should open arms embrace, the existence of mobile Internet can enable IKEA to realize the connection with consumers anytime, anywhere.

Ikea's annual catalogue is a very important way to achieve communication with consumers, with annual circulation reaching 211 million volumes, claiming to be the most widely distributed book except the Bible. Now through mobile apps, Ikea can digitize this product, and by adding some interactive and augmented reality features to enhance the experience, users can easily design the furniture on the phone to display, and through the enhancement of the reality of the function to see their own home decoration style of fit. In addition, IKEA mobile applications also play a good store shopping guide function, users can not only view product information from the application, access to concessions, shopping malls business hours, specific addresses, maps and driving routes, etc., you can also use one of the shop road map, create shopping lists and other functions. As of August 31, 2013, Ikea's mobile app has been downloaded 10 million times.

√ Social Marketing

Ikea is a pioneer in social marketing and has a large number of classic marketing cases on Facebook, Twitter, Sina Weibo and watercress. Home is an industry closely related to life, around this theme Ikea produced a large number of characteristics of the content, using the rapid spread of social media effect, not only to attract a lot of consumers to the website or physical stores into the transaction, more importantly, through the excavation of product highlights to create a unique brand image, Occupy the minds of consumers.

Looking to the future, Ikea for a long period of time is likely to continue to the electrical business of this always cautious style, and the line as a strategic focus. It is also said that Ikea's strategy should be O2O, whether through web sites, mobile applications or social media, online only to assume the function of marketing and publicity, will be led by the flow of people to form trading closed loop. I think that for Ikea, the electricity quotient and the O2O are not in conflict with nature, what should be given to consumers is a variety of options, and through the line of online trading can clearly provide better services, such as Wal-Mart is vigorously promoting the online transactions, offline delivery (Site to Store) services. In addition, although from the current point of view of home electric business line penetration rate is not high, but many research institutions also pointed out that the future of this category online there is a relatively large space for development, the electricity business is after all a development of the new things in the 20, how the future will evolve no one can predict I just don't know if today's disregard for electricity dealers will be the Achilles heel of the giant in the future.

What does Ikea's case tell us?

The rapid development of the Internet and E-commerce has devastated the nerves of a traditional enterprise, so "internet thinking", "millet mode" hot, behind the reflection of the traditional business in this era of extreme insecurity of survival. Many companies uphold the concept of "no change, death," but very easily set foot on the "chaos of change to find death" situation. Therefore, this time we need more cases such as IKEA. Although there is a particular industry, but the Swedish home retail giant has told us the basics of survival in the digital age, which is to return to the most essential elements of retailing, to find consumers and to understand and grasp their needs, to meet their expectations with goods and services beyond expectations, and to constantly surprise them.

Ikea's story also tells us that although net is the general trend in traditional business, the way and form of it are different according to the core business of the enterprise. The network is very beautiful, but the most crucial thing is to start from the ego, in the spirit of the commercial nature of the law and the user's basic respect for human nature, to find the basic principles of survival in this era and the core advantages. As Peter Agnefjäll, the Ikea chief executive, said: "For Ikea, it's not a chance to explode in a short period of time, but a way to continue to bring up the value chain of the industry."

Wen/Jeong-yuan