Catalog Catastrophe

IKEA Removed Women From Some Saudi Catalogs

October 1, 2012, 10:42 a.m. ET

By ANNA MOLIN

       Written by Anna Molin, the article "IKEA Removed Women From Some Saudi Catalogs" outlines the poor marketing decision of the Swedish company to remove some pictures of Women, specifically for the Saudi Arabia catalog. It is no secret the division between men and women in Saudi Arabia is preposterous for 2012. 

     With this in mind the marketing executives believed it would be in their best interest to remove or replace some images of women in their most recent catalog. What they did not expect was an uproar of anger feminists, modernists, and equality seekers all over the world. IKEA typically follows a straight extension strategy in which the bulk of their products remains the same throughout the global market, however, in certain circumstances they entrust in a product adaptation strategy where depending on the segmented market the products may adapt.

      There is nothing wrong with this strategy, in fact it makes sense. The issue here lies in their inability to please everyone. IKEA thought that taking out the pictures would increase interests and lower conflicts for their traditional Saudi male consumers. However, what actually happened was the divergence of the catalogs was publicly announced, and now it seems as though the executives of IKEA do not believe in equal rights and so forth. It is highly doubtful that was in any way, shape, or form the message they were trying to convey, but it is easy to see where the mishap occured. 

       Truthfully, there is no answer to a problem of this magnitude. Unfortunately for IKEA, their large global presence presents conflicting interests. 

      "The retailer has long aimed to avoid the political spotlight, but has had difficulty steering clear of scrutiny given the size of its operation and the amount of countries it does business in."

       Based off the various social norms, business ethics, and ideologies of the 337 IKEA stores consumers worldwide, there is no set marketing plan for all. Logically, it would make sense to adapt to the mold of where ever a particular store may be, but realistically it seems as though because of political, religious, or cultural issues it may be best to remain neutral. 

    For now, IKEA is trying to play clean up and recover their reputation. Until otherwise, the executives will continue to acknowledge their mistake and declare their views on equal opportunities, but it cannot be too long, until a big decision such as the catalog comes up again, and the big dogs must decide what they are going to display. 

    I think this article is a good showing of just how important marketing is. Until now, I never recognized how difficult it must be to involved in so many difficult cultures, all of which have different views on how businesses, and society as a whole should be ran. As stupid as I thought it was too remove the images, I can see why they did it. The problem arose because the catalog for Saudi Arabia was not intended to be seen by their consumers in other market segments and it was.   

       Clearly, IKEA's marketing department did not think out the implications of what could happen or even realize the message they were sending by doing it. I almost feel bad for IKEA. Their global platform is so big, maybe too big, too big for their own good. Although, it may be difficult I think that IKEA needs to try and find a balance between cultures... 
   
     It is either that or solve the inequality issue of Saudi Arabia. With that as the choices, I think If I was them I would take my chances on finding a happy medium. Until then, I think it would be best for IKEA to step back from the headlines and work on rebuilding a reputation of a respectable company with good ethics, morals, and values. 

Topics: Moral Values, Straight Extension, Product Adaptation, Global Presence, Reputation

Article can be found: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444592404578030274200387136.html