Large IKEA stores were built on the outskirts of towns where rates were cheaper and people could park easily. The furniture was sold in flat packages which saved space and allowed for ease of handling and transport. Finally, Ingvar Kamprad built his business on the philosophy ‘We do a little, you do a little, together we save money’ which meant that the customer became part of the production process. The DIY idea was refined and put into operation on a large scale. All this allowed for long production runs, which provided economies of scale and growth whilst maintaining the quality of the finished products. Instead of increasing the numbers of service personnel when the business grew, he kept the numbers the same, reasoning that employing more people would cost more money and this would make the products more expensive (so that buyers would not be able to afford them).
The simplicity of the way of working is what makes IKEA successful. The initial vision ‘to create a better everyday life for the many people’ is even more relevant today than it was 50 years ago.