宜家倾城的秘密

    达尔维格诠释了宜家保持其低成本优势的手法，就是通过批量购买货物，控制整个供应链等。这跟好市多公司（Costco）和乔氏连锁店（Trader Joe's）的经营策略并无二致。此外，宜家公司还把组装和运输货物等任务委托给顾客，让他们亲自参与分销流程。达尔维格声称，顾客自身参与的事情越多，他们获得的购物体验就越好（对于那些徘徊在宜家仓库周围，对着Grevbäck书柜或Folldal床架这类家具束手无策的人来说，这种说法或许值得商榷）。

    但达尔维格认为，顾客遭遇的这些麻烦是值得的。他指出，顾客在供应链中承担的责任越大，家具的价格就越低。如果顾客不愿意在周六花费一下午的时间研读宜家的安装手册，他大可不必费这个事；他可以选择由宜家公司送货上门，购买不需要多少自己动手组装的货物。但这样做的结果是，他必须得支付更多的钞票。

    如果你想了解宜家的故事或这家公司详尽的成长历程，这本书或许不太适合。从一开始，达尔维格就郑重地告诫读者，这并非本书的目标；相反，他只是以自己长期的老东家为例，告诉我们一家大公司如何才能做正确的事情。

    不过，达尔维格的确简单回顾了一下宜家演变为一家私人持有的零售巨头（该公司2009年的营收高达310亿美元）的简短历史。但这本书的大部分内容都讲的是管理——激励和鼓舞员工；在公司壮大以后保持创业的激情；培养忠诚和多样性；CEO扮演的角色等等。这本书对于如何让一个具有强烈地域文化色彩的品牌迈向全球这一问题发表了许多真知灼见。尽管其中的许多教益令人受益匪浅，耳目一新（达尔维格建议让尽可能多的人向你汇报，这样就没有时间从事微观管理，也没空踌躇不定了），但我想了解更多他自己在公司的故事。然而，这本书的撰写风格极富宜家家居自身的特色：实用，不花哨。

    在宜家的营运方面，达尔维格列举了一些耐人寻味的例子。比如，宜家餐厅的营业收入高达15亿美元。但15个瑞典肉丸仅定价3.99美元的主要原因并非赚取利润，而是为了凸显宜家的低价特色，延长顾客的购买时间。或者想象一下2008年的情景。当时，宜家家居拥有12.5万名员工，并创下290亿美元的销售额，但其人力资源、法律和财产等职能部门的全球雇员仅260人。类似这样的小片段让我欲罢不能。

    读完本书之后，我有一个明显的感受，那就是只有在瑞典这样的斯堪的纳维亚国家，才有可能出现宜家这样的公司。达尔维格——他在宜家工作了26年，最初的职务是一家商场的经理——警告称，他反对设定高工资，因为这样做将招来一些只看重金钱的员工。他发表了许多类似“一家公司存在的理由应该是为改善社会尽一份力”这样的声明。很难想象这些话会出自美国的大多数CEO之口。但如果他们有兴致读一读这本书的话，这话倒像是说给他们听的。

    译者：任文科

    Dahlvig explains how Ikea keeps its costs low by buying in bulk and controlling the entire supply chain, not unlike Costco (COST) or Trader Joe's. The company also uses you, the customer, to help with distribution by delegating tasks like assembling and transporting purchases. Dahlvig claims consumers actually feel like they're getting a better experience when they're doing more themselves. (This point may be debatable for anyone who's ever wandered around an Ikea warehouse looking for the likes of a Grevbäck bookcase or Folldal bedframe.)

    But Dahlvig argues that customers are compensated for their troubles: The bigger the role you take on in the supply chain, he points out, the lower the price tag. If you don't want to spend your Saturday afternoon poring over an Ikea instruction manual, you don't have to; you can select to have your furniture delivered and buy items that don't require much assembly. But you have to be willing to pay more as a result.

    If you're looking for the Ikea story or a deep Ikea timeline, this book is not for you. Dahlvig gives fair warning right from the start that this is not his goal; rather, he's using his long-time employer as an example of how a big corporation can do the right thing.

    Dahlvig does give a brief history of Ikea's evolution into the privately held retail giant that generated $31 billion in 2009. But more often than not, the book is about management -- motivating and inspiring employees, keeping an entrepreneurial streak as a company grows, creating loyalty and diversity, the role of a CEO. The book is rich in ideas about how to take a brand that has a strong regional culture and make it global. While some of these lessons are helpful and refreshing (Dahlvig suggests having numerous people report to you so you don't have time to micromanage or hover), I wanted more of a personal story about his time at the company. Instead the book is written in the style of Ikea itself: practical and no-frills.

    Dahlvig does provide some telling examples about Ikea's operations. Take, for example, that its restaurants generate $1.5 billion in sales. But the main reason behind those 15 Swedish meatballs for $3.99 is not to make a profit -- it's to highlight the store's low prices and get the customer to shop longer. Or consider that in 2008, when Ikea had 125,000 employees and $29 billion in sales, its global staff functions like HR, legal, and property only had 260 members. Little snippets like these only made me want more.

    By the end of the book it's clear that a company like Ikea could only have come out of a Scandinavian country like Sweden. Dahlvig, who spent 26 years at Ikea and started as a store manager, warns against things like setting high salaries because you'll attract people who are only in it for the money. He makes statements such as a "company's reason for existence should be to contribute to a better society." It's hard to imagine these words coming out of the mouths of most U.S. CEOs. But it might serve them well if they at least read the book.