IKEA!

Or, EEKAYA as my sister calls it in some strange attempt to pronounce it in Spanish. Honestly, I'm not even sure why this was a topic of discussion. It is certainly interesting to learn about the company's history, since I own a lot of its products and enjoy wasting time there and eating Swedish meatballs. Yummmmm 8). If you really think about it, the furniture industry isn't exactly like other industries which require constant innovation and new attempts to differentiate. There doesn't seem to be any kind of move by other companies to do what IKEA does, so I think for now it should just stay put in terms of strategy and just continue its attempt to put a Swedish product in every American home. As far as some of the comments made in class, I have to say I disagree whole-heartedly with the premiumIKEA idea. No offense to anyone, the arguments in favor of it were certainly valid. However, the idea of a premium brand within the company just doesn't jive with its core values. Premium moves too far away from what the company is trying to be. A good point was brought up about the logistics; it would be a huge undertaking to manufacture furniture which is already assembled. It couldn't be sold at a regular IKEA store, so then that creates the new challenge of having to build stores specifically for this premium brand, which would undoubtedly struggle to compete with already established luxury furniture stores. The idea that IKEA would be able to make a brand separate is also hardly feasible. Lexus is successful even though people know it is made by Toyota because Toyota was already a trusted brand and considered great quality. IKEA on the other hand, would be trying to create two separate brands with two different "reputations." One would be mid-quality, affordable and the other would be high quality and expensive. It would be difficult to convince people that this new brand really is of higher quality. I liked the suggestion of maybe adding some more DIY products to the lineup. While they already have flooring, lighting, and even home fabrics, paint might be an interesting route to take. Having paint colors that match their product lineup would be genius, allowing people to do their home makeover in one-stop. OK bye for now.

Apple, Inc.

Apple: the king of marketing. IMO a company that started out as a technology powerhouse and is starting to wind down as a tired cultural icon. When was the last time it truly innovated? The iPhone and the iPad to be sure, but now the market is saturated with smartphones and tablets and in order for Apple to keep its reputation as an innovative company on the cutting edge of technology, it will need to start coming out with new and exciting products. Now that Steve Jobs has passed on (personally I think he's still alive somewhere sipping margaritas on a beach and playing with his miniPad), Apple has lost a large part of what makes it Apple. Steve Jobs was the epitome of Apple, the face, the personality, the literal personification of an entire company. Now Cook has the task of running a company that has lost its x-factor. Since I'm not any sort of technology wizard, I'm not going to attempt to come up with any kind of cool new gadget that will change the world, but I have a couple of ideas. Since the PC market isn't very attractive to be in and Apple isn't very successful there (probably because it charges WAY too much for its computers) I feel like it could make money selling products complimentary to its existing product line. Why not a pair of wireless headphones that are cool in the way Beats are cool, with the plus of being compatible with all Apple products instantly? OR even better, why not make a kid-proof product? The miniPad I'm sure was marketed and designed with little hands in mind, but they are still easy to break. And yes, toy companies make cases that parents can place iPad/miniPad in, but shouldn't Apple take that market? An indestructible Apple product, attractive to parents and active people who are likely to end up getting their stuff broken, could be a winner. Anyway, that's all about Apple...the company is so over-discussed.