IKEA Edge: Building Global Growth and Social Good at the World's Most Iconic Home Store: Building Global Growth and Social Good at the World's Most Iconic Home Store

IKEA's former CEO reveals the unique strategy he used to lead his company to profit and growth through the worst global financial crisis in history.



IKEA's former CEO reveals the unique strategy he used to lead his company to profit and growth through the worst global financial crisis in history "Every CEO should sit and read this book and then reflect before it is too late." --Gordon Roddick, cofounder of The Body Shop With Anders Dahlvig at the helm from 1999-2009, IKEA enjoyed unprecedented success. The furniture giant averaged 11% yearly sales growth and annual operating profits in excess of 10%. The company hired more than 70,000 new employees and opened new stores in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. All this in the midst of a global recession that hit the retail furniture industry particularly hard. The IKEA Edge reveals the strategy Dahlvig used to thrive in both good and bad times--a combination of traditional business goals like profit and growth and the progressive interests of social responsibility and environmental stewardship. Dahlvig proves that these objectives, which are usually viewed as opposites, are not only compatible, but can work in harmony to benefit the organization, employees, customers, and the world at large. Anders Dahlvig is the former president and CEO of IKEA. He received the Swedish award for Good Environmental Leadership in 2002 for his independent and persistent work with environmental sustainability issues.

Prologue		vii
Introduction		ix
Chapter 1 The Four Cornerstones of a Good Business		1	(14)
PART 1 A Vision of Social Responsibility
Chapter 2 Maintaining a Strong and Dynamic Corporate Culture		15	(16)
Chapter 3 Diversity: A Good Business Choice		31	(4)
Chapter 4 The Environmental Agenda		35	(14)
Chapter 5 The Market Perspective		49	(20)
PART 2 Differentiation through Control of the Value Chain
Chapter 6 Creating a Unique Product Range		69	(10)
Chapter 7 Building a Supply Chain to Deliver Low Prices		79	(12)
Chapter 8 Efficient Retail Stores		91	(6)
Chapter 9 Effective Communication		97	(4)
Chapter 10 Working as One Company		101	(12)
Chapter 11 Staying on Track		113	(14)
PART 3 Market Leadership and a Balanced Market Portfolio
Chapter 12 The Market Strategy		127	(4)
Chapter 13 The European Expansion		131	(4)
Chapter 14 Strengthening Ikea in the United States		135	(4)
Chapter 15 Developments in Russia and Asia-Pacific		139	(10)
Chapter 16 A Local Company or a Global Retailer?		149	(4)
Chapter 17 Global Expansion in Retail		153	(18)
PART 4 Building for the Long Term
Chapter 18 The Financials		171	(4)
Chapter 19 The Role of the CEO		175	(10)
Conclusion: Doing Good Business while Being a Good Business		185

Anders Dahlvig is the former president and CEO of IKEA. In 2006, he received the U.S. Foreign Policy Association's Global Social Responsibility Award, and in 2009 he earned the Oslo Business for Peace Award. Dahlvig is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences, such as GDI International Conference on Retailing, UN Global Compact Summit, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Greenpeace Annual Conference, ECR Europe, and World Retail Congress.