Ikea hired a company to do market research on the American dream. Turns out, the American dream is more about experiences than possessions. Which doesn’t sound very positive for a store that sells a bunch of furniture, but Lars Petersson, the president of Ikea U.S., sees the opportunity.
Lars basically pitches that Ikea’s furniture is built for the experiences that Americans desire. He references the experience of sitting around a kitchen table with the family, and how that is part of the American dream. I wonder if that same family ever put a piece of Ikea furniture together, and how that experience was for them.
I was surprised, which maybe I shouldn’t have been, that Lars didn’t speak too much about how Ikea has inexpensive furniture; and, because of that, Ikea customers would have more money to spend on experiences. Like travel. I guess nobody wants to call their products cheap. Lars spoke more to the company’s sustainability efforts, including recycling Ikea furniture, which is an initiative that is practiced more in the homeland of Ikea.
Overall, I thought this interview was interesting and very clever. Lars didn’t call Ikea cheap. He talked up the cafeteria, mentioning Swedish meatballs and salmon. Because when I want salmon, I definitely go to Ikea. NO! Lars didn’t seem too phased by the “getting lost in Ikea” frustration that the interviewer mentioned. It was like he had an answer to everything. Maybe that’s why he’s president of Ikea U.S.