Topic: Inter IKEA Systems BV

An IKEA idea

According to one writer in a Detroit newspaper, "Good customer service by companies is a matter of providing a better customer experience and connecting to their customers on a human level."(Seidman, 2007) I recently ...READ»

Water Cooler: Fat Talk

The Fast Company roundup of what you'll be talking about this month when you talk about work.READ»

Making Nice with Niches

Yesterday I went to Ikea. Looking over the room mock-ups, I was surprised to see mock-ups of stores as well. They were accompanied by signs appealing to small-business owners to buy Ikea furniture. But appealing to a group is ...READ»

Many Happy Returns

The lock on my bicycle broke yesterday. What made it even more annoying was the fact that I bought it last week. I hopped on my bike and rode back to the store to get a new one. Now, I knew that I didn't have the receipt (it cost ...READ»

The Comeback Trail

A few failed ideas from the past 10 years that we're welcoming home.READ»

IKEA's Leko Is a Carpooling Service, Not a Flatpack Car

Ikea is introducing an online car-sharing service in conjuction with Comuto, the French ride-sharing company behind Covoiturage.fr, for 26 IKEA locations in France. Last week, we reported that IKEA would enter the eco-friendly car ...READ»

Rumor Mill: Is IKEA Entering the Eco-Friendly Car Market?

We already know that IKEA is debuting a line of solar-powered lights; could the Swedish giant actually enter the eco-friendly car market?READ»

Flatpack Flashpoints

What's going wrong at Ikea? This week, a 6,000-strong crowd stampeded at the launch of a new store in north London, forcing the Swedish retailer to close the doors just 40 minutes after they opened at midnight. Nine ambulances were ...READ»

Averting DIY Disaster: Beware the "Ikea Effect"

Making something with your own hands instills a certain pride: No matter how crappy that table is, it's your table, and it's special, damn it! But what happens when that same mindset takes place in a business? New research, ...READ»

Ikea's Newest Furniture Line: Packed With Ideas

Ikea doesn't usually show at furniture fairs, but this year the Swedish home furnishings company made an exception at ICFF, to unveil a sprawling new line of ambitious designs. The so-called PS line is Ikea's flagship for ...READ»

Flat-Packing to Save the World

Think of a "green" product, and you probably imagine something made of recycled, non-toxic materials. But actually, the key to ensuring that a product has a light carbon footprint is making sure it ships in the tiniest space ...READ»

Is Ikea the Paragon of Discount Wastefulness?

Can we afford to keep shopping at places where an item’s price reflects only a fraction of its societal costs?READ»

No Assembly Required

It seems scientists are harnessing the sum total of human knowledge and technology to… assemble Ikea furniture. An article about artificial intelligence in the New York Times today discusses ways in which cutting edge technology ...READ»

Passionate Customers Find Their Voice Online

How passionate are your customers? Are they talking about you online? You might want to check Google. But don't stop there. YouTube, Flickr and MySpace should also be on your list of sites to search. Target and IKEA have looked for ...READ»

Six Fonts That Piss People Off

A furor erupts when Ikea changes its official typeface. Here are five other controversial fonts, involving Nazis, incest, and comic books.READ»

Moneybags

Citywide plastic-bag bans are gaining momentum. But will companies be the ones that force us to change?READ»

Video Game Advertising

I found this interesting little tidbit in Gawker yesterday. And this morning when I read in The Boston Globe that a global marketing firm predicted that Internet advertising will continue to grow despite economic woes I read the ...READ»

'Objectified' Review: A Hurricane of Consumer Values

    There's a moment, at the beginning of the documentary Objectified, where Jonathan Ive, Apple's head of design, takes his iPhone out of his pocket and wipes it along the hem of his shirt to remove the ...READ»

• Gary Hustwit's "Objectified" [video]

Success Here's the Inside Story

Few books by company founders capture the real drama -- or the lessons -- behind their success. Too often, really smart business leaders write really dumb books. These four books are notable exceptions.READ»

Creating a Great Customer Experience -- How, Exactly??

This morning, John Moore posted some interesting thoughts about differentiating one's business. The one I'm stuck on right now is creating a great customer experience. After all, it's the thing that started this conversation in the ...READ»

Innovation: WHO Services the New Network?

If it is true that relationships are the new marketing, then customer service is way up there in term of importance. Thanks to an array of more affordable technology, individuals who have access to tools are now able to participate ...READ»

Innovation: WHO Services the New Network?

If it is true that relationships are the new marketing, then customer service is way up there in term of importance. Thanks to an array of more affordable technology, individuals who have access to tools are now able to participate ...READ»

Innovation: WHO Services the New Network?

If it is true that relationships are the new marketing, then customer service is way up there in term of importance. Thanks to an array of more affordable technology, individuals who have access to tools are now able to participate ...READ»

DMI Branding Conference - Day Two

The Design Management Institute kicked off day two of this year's conference, Design + Brand + Experience, with two presentations from global brand leaders. The first presentation, from Verena Kloos, president of BMW Group's ...READ»

Fast Talk: Smart Shops

Just in time for the holiday rush, we asked top retailers: Why is the customer experience so lousy? And what can we do to fix it?READ»