Ikea offers brilliant lessons in the detail of retail

This article first appeared in Retail Week 

My favourite retailer is Ikea, it's a very successful business and there's much to learn from Ikea. I’m surprised how little people talk about how they admire Ikea, across the globe it successfully sells the same products using the same formula.

I was once in Saudi Arabia on business when I saw an Ikea store, I had to stop and look inside because I couldn’t imagine Saudis buying flatpack furniture, it was actually very busy. Saudis in Riyadh must be different from those in Knightsbridge and Mayfair, it was testament to Ikea’s universal appeal. Ikea understands customers and psychology better than many retailers.

In 2009 after 50 years of using the Futura font, it switched to Verdana. This caused an outcry in the design community and a petition was even started to stop Ikea from using Verdana. Many years later, was Verdana the right font to use? Yes it was. Point of Sale, packaging, advertising and the catalogue is so easy to read – you can tell it’s from Ikea even if it doesn't have an Ikea logo on it.

Google, Facebook, Apple, Nike and the BBC are all examples of companies where design and fonts make a big difference, if a CEO doesn’t understand that, they're not a retailer. Ikea copywriting is simple and powerful, it uses very few words. For example, the instructions on the new wireless phone charger are “to charge, simply place your phone on the little plus sign," that’s it.

It all sounds simple, but as many people know, simplicity is hard to achieve. Ikea assembly instructions don’t really use any words, only pictures, this makes assemble in any country much easier. If only MFI had understood that.

People speak different languages all over the world, but the Swedish model names are the same everywhere. A ‘Hemnes’ bookcase in Leeds is a ‘Hemnes’ bookcase in Riyadh or Rio. A couple in Australia filmed themselves going round an Ikea store. The guy annoys his girlfriend with puns and uses the name of the product, since the video it was uploaded on YouTube it's had more than 8 million views – not bad free advertising.

Ikea products are well designed, all our furniture in the Freeserve office was from Ikea, it was great quality and it looked the part for our young new Internet company.

People often moan about how they don’t like having to walk around the fixed track of an Ikea store, but it’s something that they actually enjoy without realising it. The alternative of having to walk around a monster store not knowing where to start and find the products is unthinkable.

So many small things make a difference, I recently tried a mattress and as I lay there I read a message above me about how Ikea can dispose of the old mattress, what a fantastic idea. What are people reading in other bed retailers as they lie there? Probably nothing, just looking at the ceiling, what a wasted opportunity.

Did you know who’s got the widest parking bays in retail? Ikea. I could go on, but I’ve made my point.

Retail is about detail, that’s what makes the difference, unfortunately lots of people working in retail are not really retailers. Retail is not just about spreadsheets, it’s about being a shopkeeper.