Refreshing isn't it? Not familiar with IKEA's track record in electronics though. I've had mostly good experiences with the furniture (though price influences quality a lot). Bad experiences with their cheap wok pans. But generally my IKEA stuff works well.
Nice to seem them align with standards though, because they seem to have their own standards for curtains. Very upsetting :)
They do have a well-proven track record of providing very good value for money, and I get the impression that they achieve the prices they do through ruthless optimisation of their processes. I'm curious to see how that culture extends to software engineering (Provided they do it in-house).
Certainly ruthless optimisation of their corporate structure with respect to tax helps contribute to their low prices: http://www.economist.com/node/6919139.
But it's nice to think that it could also be due to genuine technical ability.
Yeah, IKEA isn't really a saint, few corporations are. But they've done a lot of technical optimisation as well that should contribute to their low pricing. Flatpacks, big production runs, design stuff to be cheap to produce. A whole bunch of things.
And while I doubt their morals (corporations rarely have any) I generally have faith in their quality-to-price ratio. Not a resounding endorsement, just have had few problems.
And honestly if a company is going to evade or limit their taxes passing on part of the savings to consumers if fairly benevolent (if the tax avoidance contributes to the price as GP claims).
Only if the product is something which is generally useful and affordable for the entire population. Evading taxes on, say, megayachts and passing the savings on to the consumer doesn't seem particularly benevolent.
Yeah, I can imagine that if these things shake out well and I figure they should sell fine, IKEA will slowly add more and more software-driven stuff to their line-up.
No idea if that means in-house software engineering, I imagine it wouldn't as they want to keep prices low. Just heavy QA? Or they might eat the cost for local development since the software cost is pretty small and doesn't scale up with the number of units produced.
They do have a set of cheap table serrated-edge steak knives (SNITTA - set of 4 for $5) that are actually quite nice when you look at them closely; stainless steel with a tang that goes completely down the handle.
Not sure what the handle is made out of, but its solidly attached, and the set my wife and I bought has lasted almost a decade going thru the dishwasher and such, and still look nearly brand new. They say they can be used as a utility knife; they'd probably cut cardboard well, maybe other stuff, but I prefer other tools for that kind of thing.
I actually like them better than a set I have that are identical to the large steak knives they put out (or did at one time) at the Outback Steakhouse restaurant (not saying anything about the food - I just liked the knives).
Some day I'm going to pick up a set of Knork knives (I already love their namesake utensils), but I bet I still might like the Ikea set better.
I have a dream that they'll sell something like (or maybe the same product) the Oxfam OX flatpack truck to consumers.
I want one of those so bad, to the point where I've considered building one from scratch. I doubt we'll ever see one of them stateside, though, because they look like a deathtrap in an accident.
Though I wonder if, as a "kit car" put together by the owner and not sold as a complete vehicle, they couldn't be legally registered and driven as an "experimental" vehicle (which is what I would have to get if I self-built one)?
Nice to seem them align with standards though, because they seem to have their own standards for curtains. Very upsetting :)