Built Not To Last

Apple and Nissan have a business fundamental in common. They both recognise that in a consumer society, durability is bad for business. Of course, this doesn’t mean their products are unreliable, rather that they focus on innovation. Nissan’s ad slogan Innovation that excites, roughly translates as we excite the consumers desire to replace their three-year-old Nissan with the new updated model.

Which is why the death of Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA gave me pause for thought.

His creation of

·        cheap furniture

·        the concept of self-assembly (closely allied with a desire to self-destruct when confronted with incomprehensible instructions)

·        the best meat balls in Croydon

·        the most soulless stores anywhere

·        a brand name Brits can’t agree on how to pronounce (like Nike)

were notable achievements, but not his most significant. Kamprad created a seismic shift in a market. He made furniture a consumable.

Before IKEA furniture was most definitely a durable, it was built to last and last. One bought a chair in the knowledge that in the seating department that was job done. Furniture was something not just of utility but of substance, even of inheritance. William Shakespeare thought to include his ‘second best bed’ in his will. My favourite Alan Clarke sneer was addressed at Michael Heseltine’s new money with the barb ‘He bought all his own furniture’

Post Ingvar furniture became a disposable, something to throw away when your life style or design style changed. Now your furniture reflects your life stage almost as much as your clothes. You can just ‘chuck out the chintz’ and try a new look.

Not quite ‘fast furniture’, but there is an analogy with IKEA and Zara. Before Zara and its many mimics, mainstream clothing was similarly about durability and less about being on trend. Think Levi Strauss and his copper rivets. Now M&S clothing has been marginalised, not just by price, but by our happiness to buy clothing as a consumable not a durable. Even the posh no longer consider underwear to be an heirloom.

As for furniture the mid-market has been hollowed out. Designer branded ranges have captured the premium high ground, while brands like Heals and Habitat struggle to present a credible proposition.

To traduce Virgil, if you are selling things made of wood, beware of Swedes bearing meatballs.