Continuously asking and re-examining what business you are in is a key component of remaining relevant. Here is a humorous newsflash that just might point to a whole new market space for IKEA to get into.
Last year a Belgian blogger asked a local IKEA store if she could organize a hide-and-seek game in their store with her friends. The store granted the request, and the game went so well that the Facebook page born of the event generated considerable interest from people wanting to do the same. In the Dutch town of Eindhoven, more than 32,000 people signed up to participate, while in Amsterdam, 19,000 registered. Citing safety and health reasons, IKEA had to intervene and stop the events moving forward.
I can certainly understand IKEA’s caution, but this curious phenomenon raises the intriguing idea of the company getting into the business of fun parks or group entertainment destinations. After all, something about its store layout sparked the imagination of a wave of visitors who saw a playground, instead of a furniture store.
