1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having the same product range shown in all IKEA catalogues around the world?

2. The catalogue is the most important element in IKEA’s global marketing planning.

Discuss whether there could be some cultural differences in the effectiveness of the catalogue as a marketing tool.

3. Explain some cultural differences which are illustrated by the two different illustrations of the same product (from the Danish and Chinese IKEA catalogues).

The catalogue serves as a pre-shopping advertisement, an in-store sales aid and an interior decorating guide. Many consumers shop with the catalogue in hand. Since the catalogue is such an important marketing tool, it is crucial for it to accurately reflect the colour and appearance of IKEA products, also in local cultural circumstances.

The globalization strategy developed by IKEA is a home-based strategy built around a Swedish concept calling for furniture that is clean, modern, efficient, functional, sustainable and competitively priced. The product is not adapted to local markets during the globalization process. Nevertheless, geographic expansion has brought more flexibility to the initial stringent rule concerning the standardization of products and marketing, in particular during the establishment of stores, for example, in the United States and China (as we see it in this case).