spinofflive
Numerous rumours of IKEA’s arrival in New Zealand have been greatly exaggerated. (Photo: Getty).
Numerous rumours of IKEA’s arrival in New Zealand have been greatly exaggerated. (Photo: Getty).

BusinessDecember 20, 2018

IKEA is coming! Or is it?

Numerous rumours of IKEA’s arrival in New Zealand have been greatly exaggerated. (Photo: Getty).
Numerous rumours of IKEA’s arrival in New Zealand have been greatly exaggerated. (Photo: Getty).

After seeing so many reports over the years of the Swedish flatpack furniture giant coming to New Zealand, business editor Maria Slade is having a crisis of faith.

I stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy some time ago.

Likewise, I do not believe IKEA is coming to New Zealand.

My editor points out that the mega retailer has issued an actual press release saying it is headed our way, and it’s true the release is quite convincing and Swedish: “We are happy to meet the wish from many people for IKEA to open in New Zealand,” Inter IKEA Systems B.V. writes.

But we’ve had our hopes of flatpack furniture nirvana raised so many times before, only to have them cruelly dashed.

I am impressed by the optimism of my media brethren. ‘Confirmed: Ikea to open in NZ’ says the Royal New Zealand Herald app today, and in fairness to them the company’s own press release is headed ‘IKEA to open in New Zealand’.

Even Deputy PM Winston Peters is claiming credit, linking the opening of New Zealand’s new Stockholm embassy with the happy news.

Can I just point out some other language in the release, however? “Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is today announcing its intentions to grant the Ingka Group exclusive rights to explore expansion opportunities in New Zealand.” There are a lot of qualifiers in there, people. This is not the definitive ‘we are hanging out our shingle in Aotearoa’ statement we might have hoped for.

I am not convinced by this latest announcement for the simple reason that there has been talk of IKEA coming to New Zealand for my entire career as a business journalist.

In 2008 the Environment Court threw out the retailer’s bid for a Mt Wellington store because of concerns its popularity would cause traffic chaos.

In 2009 Hamilton put up its hand as a Kiwi outpost, but that went nowhere.

In January there were reports the company had conducted research into the New Zealand market. But as recently as October IKEA said it was looking at expanding into a dozen new markets and New Zealand was not one of them.

At the time Bodo Lang, head of the University of Auckland Business School marketing department, said it was unlikely New Zealand would get an IKEA soon. IKEA stores are usually located in an area of at least a million people within an hour’s drive, so we could get one in Auckland – but only one.

“The rest of the country simply is not densely enough populated and IKEA typically does not enter countries where they can only open one store. The investment is simply not worth it,” Bodo said sagely.

Of course it could be that IKEA has been toying with our emotions this year and its intentions have been honourable all along. It’s set up a Facebook page, after all.

Bodo Lang points out that IKEA could modify its business model to serve untapped markets such as New Zealand in a different way. But then if the Swedish retailer doesn’t make good on the mega store we’ve all been waiting for like the Second Coming, we may be sorely disappointed.

The fact remains that the homewares giant would need a huge amount of land with good motorway access. The logical location is Auckland, which now has a Unitary Plan that does not necessarily favour big sprawling box developments with loads of car parks.

I’m willing to have my faith restored, IKEA, but your actions are going to have to speak louder than your words.

Keep going!
bib

PodcastsDecember 20, 2018

How the construction and infrastructure industry can encourage Māori-led players

bib

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Warner Cowin, founder and CEO of procurement and bidding consultancy Height.

A big theme in the world of business and economics this year that I struggle to understand, yet is proven over and over again, is that in the middle of a construction boom companies in the sector are going bust left, right and centre and no-one is said to be making any money. Which, when you look at supply and demand, and also things like the cost of materials and the highly concentrated set-up for supply, seems a bit bananas.

Well, one figure in the industry – the founder-CEO of procurement and bidding consultancy Height – knows the business from both the pitching and commissioning sides of the fence. And he has a few idea that he has been sharing as to what might be off in this particular soup. His name is Warner Cowin, and he’s an ex-RNZAF engineering officer who’s taken many of the disciplines and skills from military life – a place so influential on business team structure accountability, culture, and systemisation – and used those to help build his successful 15-person consultancy.

To talk construction, things learnt in the services, and empowering Māori and Pacific business through clever delivery of big projects, Warner joins the podcast

Either download this episode (right click and save), have a listen below or via Spotify, subscribe through iTunes (RSS feed) or read on for a transcribed excerpt.

That idea of taking a really thoughtful approach to help grow those small businesses that’s something that’s really personal to you as well in your own journey, you are a part of EO the entrepreneurs’ organization at both ends of the scale in helping small business and also learning from other large and established business.

Yeah, I think a lot of that business isn’t necessary doing work with those government organizations… you know this is probably a different topic but doing business with government is a really good opportunity. As clients they never go bust – well we would hope they never go bust – but they generally pay on time and the types of people in government organisations are generally pretty good. They care about what they do to create opportunities for smaller business to participate in that business opportunity.

And also I think in New Zealand roughly 20% of the market is dictated by government so they have a particular influence over the market. So if they can instill a sense of what is an acceptable level of health and safety or participation of supplies that then by nature filters through to other parts of the sector.