Marketing Essay, Research Paper

FOREWORD

The first time I visited an IKEA-store was in Elisabeth, New Yersey, The U.S. The year was

1995 and I still rember the joy and excitement when I entered the building. It was huge and it

was typical Swedish. Being far away from Sweden obviously make you kind of patriotic and

when I saw the IKEA logo with its blue and yellow colors it almost felt like I was home in

Sweden again. I had been working in The U.S for 1 1/2 year when I decided to visit IKEA.

My first impression of IKEA was very pleasant. The staff seemed to be service-minded and

the assortment did not only contain furniture but also Swedish candy and christmas ornaments

(it was right before christmas). Swedish meatballs were also on the menu and for me that was

something I had been longing for.

It was not until 1997 that I visited IKEA for the second time, this time outside Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania, U.S. Between the year 1995 and 1997 I had been studying business

Administration at Mid-Sweden University and when it was time to make a final research-paper

I decided to write about IKEA. During my visit in the U.S 1998 I collected information

to the paper, for example the case provided by the World Resources Institute. The

environmental issues are very important in a company’s success in the global competition

today, therefore I found these issues particulary important to study. IKEA had adopted The

Natural Steps framework for a sustainable society and I found this very interesting. I decided

to look at the environmental issues in a somewhat different perspective – through a business

perspective. Very well, here is the result of my research and I hope you will enjoy your

reading. I would not have been able to write this research-paper without help from IKEA. I

particulary thank Britt-Inger Andersson, environmental manager in IKEA of Sweden AB, and

Anders Lennartsson, staff environment of IKEA international A/S for giving me useful/rich

information and moreover for their friendly and encouraging way.

Veronica Thundahl