Swedish furniture giant Ikea calls creative pitch in China

A source close to the pitch told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the client has invited four agencies, which will attend a pitch briefing in January. The pitch presentations are expected to take place after Chinese New Year.

Currently Saatchi & Saatchi is the creative agency for Ikea stores in China, while BBDO is responsible for the creative of IICG (Inter Ikea Centre Group)—the mega shopping malls owned by Ikea in Wuxi and Beijing.

According to the Ikea China website, the brand has 11 stores in major cities, including two in Shanghai and one in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and other cities.

What challenge does the brand face in China market? For one, many people who visit its stores buy only small household goods or just take in the atmosphere, according to a report in franchiseek.com. However, IKEA's purchase volume in China accounts for 18 per cent of the global amount and exceeds all other countries, its prices still cannot beat  many domestic products in a short term. 

Copycat stores are another potential problem. As local and international news have reported that in Kunming, there is a store called 11 Furniture that very much resembles the Ikea experience, complete with miniature wooden pencils and blue-and yellow colour scheme.