IKEA is a Swedish furniture/houseware chain that has branches around the world but only has about 24 stores in the U.S. If you've never had the chance to go, they are gigantic places with lots of high-quality, low-priced, elegant items. It turns out that one of IKEA's slogans is: "Low Prices, But Not at Any Price." Of course they're talking about the code of conduct for the company's suppliers. Like every low-cost retailer these days, IKEA has inspectors that look into the factories run by the subcontractors who produce the products they sell. But unlike some companies (with headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas), these Swedes actually do what they say. IKEA does not accept child labour and works actively to present this. All IKEA suppliers and their sub-contractors must comply with a special code of conduct, "The IKEA way of Preventing Child Labour". When they make their regular visits to suppliers IKEA employees always check that there are no children working on the premises. In Southern Asia, where child labour is common, unannounced inspections are made at least once a year by independent auditors. IKEA has achieved more than many other big companies. The company appears to understand the problems and is aware that working with Save the Children to create a better life for children, can also be good for business and gives the brand a soul. Radio-Canada journalists posed as buyers in the Canadian garment industry so they could videotape inside factories in Bangladesh with hidden cameras. In one factory, typical of many in the country, children were busy with lower-skill tasks. In badly lit, dirty and overheated workshops, young boys were everywhere. A label reading Simply Basic, one of Wal-Mart's in-house brand names along with the number CA 28885, the corporate ID of Wal-Mart Canada, was seen in the factory. The same factory also produces Wal-Mart's corporate T-shirt for Canada. The factory manager told Radio-Canada that the children are working on domestic production and that they didn't work on export garments, like Wal-Mart's. But after filling many orders the manager said he had never met inspectors from the company and Wal-Mart had not visited the factory. Does Wal-Mart have a soul? IKEA shows that you don't have to give it up to sell at low prices.
2007-01-23 20:03:19
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answer #1
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answered by JFAD 5
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I'm guessing here, but having been to Ikea a few times I think I know what they mean.
All of Ikea's stuff is designed to be shipped flat, which keeps shipping costs down. They also seem to package the basic assembly stuff in sort of a one size fits all, which would cut down on costs as well. Most of the stuff is instock, but unassembled, which saves them warehouse space and overhead, and also saves them money by not having to put it together themselves. I think what they are saying is, they're making a higher quality product (I've gotten a lot of Ikea stuff, would not call any of it "high quality" but it beats the local X-marts), and able to sell it at low cost because they cut corners on everything but the quality, unlike say WalMart, who sells cheap, low quality crap for low cost. If that makes any sense.
2007-01-23 19:56:52
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answer #2
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answered by Jadalina 5
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I buy the majority of my furniture from IKEA and have never had a problem with it, either when my partner puts it up, or even when it has built. It always lasts for as long as I need it too. In my books, IKEA sell good quality furniture at very cheap prices, and I would not complain. Even their CAFE is very reasonable, a full english breakfast for only 99p?? Who could resist that. And it tastes great too. They also have a play area to leave the kids in for FREE while you browse around. What stores offer this??
2007-01-23 20:01:22
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answer #3
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answered by Red Devil Girl 3
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well, they sell in bulk. they control the major suppliers who make the stuff and set up production lines to spit out this stuff. it means they dont have to change their machine settings to do different things. this reduces the cost of the items. Ikea got in for a small mark-up (the money they make after theyve paid the suppliers) so the overall cost to you and me is low. so they sell millions of units for a small profit. quality is a matter of judgement, most people just like the style.
2007-01-23 20:01:57
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answer #4
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answered by Pilgrim 2
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i know a few people who work at ikea and they said NEVER buy anything from there it is of poor quality and cheap and nasty in thier words it's a load of crap
2007-01-23 19:54:57
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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thats easy, you quite simply get wot you pay for, no other way about it. ikeas cheap because the product is cheap
2007-01-23 19:59:18
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answer #6
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answered by scott w 1
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When you learn to spell the word 'does', I'll give you an answer.
2007-01-23 20:12:44
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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