A Hotel Company from Ikea? Ja

Sweden’s Ikea is known around the world for its chain of stores selling inexpensive furniture. As the firm says: “Rather than selling expensive home furnishings that only a few can buy, the Ikea Concept makes it possible to serve the many by providing low-priced products that contribute to helping more people live a better life at home. The Ikea Concept guides the way Ikea products are designed, manufactured, transported, sold, and assembled. All of these factors contribute to transforming the IKEA Concept into a reality.”
Now, Ikea is looking to branch out and is partnering with Marriott International to develop a hotel chain.
As reported by Alexandra Berzon and Kris Hudson for the Wall Street Journal: “Ikea has made a booming business out of cheap, stylish prefabricated furniture, much of it designed for tight spaces. Now, an affiliate and Marriott International are looking to create hotels in the same mold — joining a race by hotel companies to saturate Europe with low-cost rooms.” Marriott recently announced “designs for Moxy, a new hotel brand it is developing with a subsidiary of Inter Ikea Group, the parent company of the Ikea furniture brand. Inter Ikea is investing around $500 million for around 50 budget hotels in Europe in the next five years, Marriott executives say, in a partnership with the Bethesda, Md.-based hotel company and a European hotel operator.”
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Image from Marriott International Inc.

 

Posted in Global Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Not a Marriage Made in Heaven: When Class Meets Mass

Neiman Marcus is a leading higher-end retail chain that offers “upscale assortments of apparel, accessories, jewelry, beauty, and decorative home products to the affluent consumer.” Through its Last Call division, the firm sells merchandise in an outlet store format (and Last Call is a clearance center for items originally sold at Neiman Marcus).
So, it might seem a good fit for Last Call merchandise to also be sold on eBay. However, this coupling did not turn out so well. As reported by Ina Steiner
for EcommerceBytes.com: “Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus has permanently exited eBay after it failed to meet the retailer’s expectations. Neiman Marcus was among the first “Fashion Outlets” eBay launched in the U.S. in 2011, selling clothing shoes and accessories under its off-price brand, Last Call By Neiman Marcus. Ginger Reeder, Vice-President of Corporate Communications for Neiman Marcus Group Services, said the closure of the Last Call By Neiman Marcus eBay store was permanent. The last orders were taken from customers on January 7, 2013. ‘We are always trying new partnerships and this is one where we felt we learned a great deal, but it did not meet all our expectations,’ Reeder said. ‘We parted on good terms with eBay, but we will not be reopening in the future.'”
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Posted in Online Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels: Not Made in China

Auntie Annie’s was founded in 1988. Now, twenty-five years later, it sells Auntie Anne’s Pretzel products, dipping sauces, and beverages in more than 1,330 outlets in 46 states and more than 25 countries. Despite this success, Auntie Anne’s has not been able to prosper in its efforts to expand into China.
Knowledge@Wharton recently reported on Auntie Anne’s China venture: “In early 2012, after four years of excruciating effort, Auntie Anne’s Chinese operations shut down for good. It was decided, after much consideration, that the endeavor had been more trouble than it was worth. But the efforts were not entirely fruitless. The pretzel itself, although until recently there was no Chinese word for it, is made of ingredients similar to those which comprise many Chinese dietary staples. Though the Auntie Anne’s brand never quite caught on in China, it is possible that the food itself will. This detail, like the book The China Twist itself, is an unexpected victory, but a victory nonetheless.”
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Posted in Global Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment