IKEA for FIAT Press Conference Speech by Roberto Monti Country Manager - IKEA ITALIA Retail srl, Turin – Mirafiori Motor Village:

Ladies and Gentlemen, IKEA has been in Italy since the Spring of 1989, when it opened its first store in Milan. This means that we are now in our 18th year here, a symbolic date which for us underlines that we are now officially “of age”, like all 18-year-olds! I think that the relationship that IKEA is forging with the Italian market is a sign of this maturity; because we arrived here timidly at the end of the 80s, well aware of Italy’s international role in the world of design and interior design in particular.

And we have grown. Certainly in terms of quantity, because we are about to open our 12th store, in Ancona, and because throughout these years the number of products we have commissioned from local suppliers has grown exponentially, making Italy the third supply market for the entire group, in spite of competition from Asia. But more important still, I think that the quality of IKEA’s relations with its surroundings has grown, as has its understanding of the behaviour and expectations of consumers.

When FIAT first approached us, we took this gesture to be a sign of recognition, not only of our competence in our own sectors of activity (furnishing and retail), but also of our ability to offer products with a functional quality and good design at a reasonable price, and IKEA addresses both the private shopper and a company as complex and ramified as FIAT. This common adventure between IKEA and FIAT, and I use the word adventure because it is an absolute first for us, in Italy and internationally, stems from a number of clear points of contact between the two brands, such as the fact that both address a broad, popular target, that wants to spend its money prudently and wisely. The brief we received from FIAT was quite clear. To create an attractive centre that could emotionally convey a strong FIAT identity, which would focus on the car as the main product, which would be fresh, pleasant and interesting for visitors/customers and which would allow everyone to take advantage of the space and of the services offered quite autonomously.

In order to meet all these needs, we started by analysing some FIAT dealerships, examining them through the magnifying glass of our knowledge of consumers and their behaviour in sales outlets.
 

During this first approach, we often came across impersonal, even cold environments, where communication was poor and lacking in clarity. Even the presentation of the cars was often anonymous, without any particular elements of interest or attractions for the individual models and the target they addressed.

We considered the FIAT dealership as a meeting place between the assortment and the customer, analysing the flows that customers activate spontaneously during their visits and identifying the potential of the “hot” areas and the obstacles of the “cold” areas during their exploration of the various parts of the dealership. We tried to create a dialogue between the visitor and the products in various channels, identifying each one with a clear function. The launch platform was chosen for presentations of events and novelties, the information point and accessories shop to attract visitors’ attention and to provide information.

But above all, we tried to create two distinct areas inside the dealership for FIAT’s three main targets, i.e. the family, which needs safety and comfort (the world of the Croma, Multipla, Doblò and Idea), the young driver buying his first car (the world of the Panda, Grande Punto and Sedici), and the world of work, with a particular focus on small and medium sized enterprises. Other functions designed to make the visit to the dealer enjoyable were then arranged like satellites around these three worlds: the waiting areas, with a play area for children and something to entertain the family, an internet station where visitors can find information for themselves, and a bar with a strong Italian flavour, for customers and visitors.

You can see the result here and in any of the large and small FIAT dealerships in Italy and Europe which are gradually adopting this new format. I hope you like it because it is the result of a new type of project for us, a commitment to which we have tried to transfer the world of democratic design, where quality combines with low cost to satisfy the end customer.