Ikea Assembles a New Task Force with the Purchase of Uppgiftskanin
-By Helen Ackerley | [email protected]
Ikea is well known for its affordable furniture that anyone can build and put together on their own. However, there is a large market of consumer out there that are always looking to hire someone to build the furniture for them. Perhaps they do not have the skills or the patience to build the furniture on their own, but they certainly have the know-how to look online for someone to build it for them.
In come Taskrabbit (Uppgiftskanin in Swedish), a private firm (as is Ikea), that specializes in connecting those with hand-on skills with people requiring their assistance. While Taskrabbit handles all sorts of tasks, such as yard work and home improvement, Furniture Assembly is one of their main verticals. This goes hand-in-hand with Ikea, as thus far, Ikea no longer interacts with the consumer after the product is shipped. The company has come to realize that there is a whole other market, and a new way to grow and capitalize on the services that its own business has created.
Over the years, Ikea as improved the quality of its building instructions after many complaints in the past. Now with Taskrabbit, the company will have a task force of 60,000+ skilled workers for which it simply takes a cut off of every job. However it can now collect feedback and improve its products with the data that Taskrabbit will bring to the table.
Ikea may also be able to bring value into Taskrabbit, making the whole larger than the sum of the parts. Ikea already has its own augmented reality catalog in which consumers can place virtual furniture into their homes before making a purchase. Perhaps the company can complement its new work force base by providing them with new ideas from its catalog, or even sharing commission for those who can bring more Ikea products into the homes of individuals.