Strategic Analysis: IKEA and Lay-Z-Boy in the Global Furniture Market

This report provides a competitive analysis of the furniture market, focusing on IKEA and Lay-Z-Boy as key global competitors to John and Deborah’s corporation. It includes a SWOT analysis for each competitor, examining their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report explores the reasons for their direct competition, particularly in markets like Australia, and evaluates their competitive advantages, such as offering cheaper furniture options. It also considers the potential for cooperative strategies, specifically with IKEA, and discusses strategies for building a competitive market profile. Furthermore, the report touches upon the importance of a balanced scorecard for monitoring progress and strategic planning. Desklib provides access to this and many other solved assignments for students.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Top 2 Global Competitors in the market.........................................................................................3
SWOT of each Competitor..............................................................................................................3
Reason for being direct Competitors...............................................................................................4
Competitive Advantage of the Competitors....................................................................................5
Can a cooperative strategy be formed with the competitors?..........................................................5
Strategies used to build a competitive market profile.....................................................................5
Balanced Scorecard.........................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Top 2 Global Competitors in the market
The following report is based on the research on John and Deborah’s corporation, a
popular furniture producer and seller based at Boston in the United States of America. The
company produces high end quality furnitures for the upper middle class customers of USA
(Verger, Lubienski & Steiner-Khamsi, 2016). The management of the company has been able to
utilize the best marketing strategies that have helped them to spread their market over the whole
of the United States. The top two global competitors of the organization in the market include
IKEA and Lay-Z-Boy.
SWOT of each Competitor
The SWOT analysis of IKEA is as follows;
Strength Opportunities Excellent knowledge of the
client
 Global positioning
 Great knowhow of the
Australiaan market
 Global expansion is the
biggest opportunity for the
company
 Presence of Online sales can
help the organization to be at
its best
Weaknesses Threats IKEA is often charged of
providing low quality
products
 Absence of proper furnishing
leads to problems
 High rate of attrition
 Presence of other competitors
 Low sales in the last few years
has been a major threat to the
company
 Increase in the revenue of the
client

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The SWOT analysis of La-Z-Boy is as follows;
Strength Opportunities
 High Brand Recognition and
Brand Loyalty
 Presence of Large
departmental stores
 Wide base of customers
 Presence of excellent
branding and advertising
 Large base of suppliers
 New Technology can be
incorporated
 Market development will help
to address potential
challenges
 Stable cash flow in the market
will help in the development of
the organization
 New customer base can be
developed from online
channels
Weaknesses Threats
 Complaints on quality of
furnitures
 Decision making power is not
that strong which leads to
problems
 Lack of competitive advantage
in the market
 Lack of strategic positioning
in the market
 Marketing is not satisfactory
 Company fails to address
challenges posed by new
market entrants
 Gaps in the product range
sold by the country
 Change in the environmental
regulations is one of the most
worrying factors for the
organizations
 Rise in the number of other
companies providing similar
products
 Absence of leadership often
pose threat to the
organization
 Absence of the proper
implementation of the
marketing strategies
Reason for being direct Competitors
Both, IKEA and Lay-Z-Boy will be the main competitors of the business organization in
the global expansion of the company in some of the countries especially in Australia. The main
problem lies in the fact that both of the companies offer cheap and replicable furnitures that

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looks similar but costs much cheaper than the ones that are offered by John and Deborah’s
corporation.
Competitive Advantage of the Competitors
As mentioned earlier, both IKEA and Lay-Z-Boy offer cheaper furnitures to the
consumers in Australia. The management of John and Deborah’s corporation will be forced to
increase the costs of the furniture in Australia as because the exported furnitures from USA will
invite additional taxes of Australia and have to clear other hurdles during trade. This will lead to
an increase in the costs of the furnitures. Therefore it is quite clear that the competitors will have
a greater competitive advantage than John and Deborah’s corporation.
Can a cooperative strategy be formed with the competitors?
Though IKEA is one of the largest rival companies of John and Deborah’s corporation, it
will be a wise and strategic decision to strike a business agreement with the former in order to
enhance the chances of the latter in the Australian market (ikea.com, 2019).
Strategies used to build a competitive market profile
According to, Lasserre (2017) the internal and external analysis of IKEA and the
implementation of a survey marketing strategy before striking the deal is utmost necessary for
John and Deborah’s corporation to ensure success and build a competitive market profile.

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Balanced Scorecard
A Balanced Scorecard is a particular business tool that helps the management of the
company to identify the strategies of the business. The balanced scorecard can also help to
monitor the progress of the brand in the market and prepare an action plan based on the same
feedback.

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References
Cavusgil, S. T., & Knight, G. (2015). The born global firm: An entrepreneurial and capabilities
perspective on early and rapid internationalization. Journal of International Business
Studies, 46(1), 3-16. From:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270704294_The_born_global_firm_An_entrepr
eneurial_and_capabilities_perspective_on_early_and_rapid_internationalization
Forsgren, M. (2017). Theories of the multinational firm: A multidimensional creature in the
global economy. Edward Elgar Publishing. From:
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/theories-of-the-multinational-firm
Home Furniture: Living Room & Bedroom Furniture | La-Z-Boy. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.la-z-boy.com/
IKEA.com - International homepage. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ikea.com/
Lasserre, P. (2017). Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.
From:https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/detail/Global-Strategic-Management/?
K=9781137584588
Verger, A., Lubienski, C., & Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2016). The emergence and structuring of the
global education industry: Towards an analytical framework. In World Yearbook of
Education 2016 (pp. 23-44). Routledge. From: https://www.routledge.com/World-
Yearbook-of-Education-2016-The-Global-Education-Industry-1st-Edition/Verger-
Lubienski-Steiner-Khamsi/p/book/9781138855397