Ikea, the Swedish furniture and home design company, has 283 stores in 26 countries and generated profits of $3.2 billion in 2015. Its stores have a unique layout that cuts across image and atmosphere and creates an environment designed to confuse their customers. The stores are maze-like; customers follow a distinct trail through them. The idea is to show the furniture in different settings to illustrate its versatility. Customers get disorientated with left and right turns and make impulse buys just in case they cannot find their way back to the product. By the time the customer gets to the warehouse area near the cash registers (the only place to get larger items and load them onto a cart), the customer is amazed at the low price and does not question the purchase. Smaller items such as candles or cushions are bought on impulse as the customer traverses the store. Ikea itself denies that the store layout is designed to confuse customers; it claims that the showrooms are designed to get ideas across and provide customers with a context in which to see the products. In 2015, Ikea announced that it was changing the layout of its stores. Research this change and decide whether Ikea is right or wrong to change the layout.

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