Under Controversy
Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea held a press conference at the Times Square shopping mall in Seoul on September 22 to report its business results in Korea and launch its kitchen appliances.
Andre Schmidtgall, country retail manager at Ikea Korea, said, “Sales of Ikea Korea this year amounted to 345 billion won (US$309.69 million), up 17 percent from last year, and we will start selling kitchenware such as dishes and cups from this month.” The company also announced its plan to open a second store in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in the second half of next year.
Ikea Korea would have wanted to inform the public that the company is putting up a good show in Korea and is expanding its business in the country. However, reporters paid more attention to the company’s belated decision to recall its drawer chests.
Ikea decided to recall its 36 million dressers and chests that killed several children after tipping over in North America in June, but it belatedly recalled the products in Korea, following recall orders from the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
In this regard, Schmidtgall didn’t explain the reason clearly but kept repeating that it is safe to use when the drawer is anchored to the wall without any apology. He said, “We have tested drawer chest products and halted sales of another 15 models. We confirmed that no accidents occurred when the drawer was fixed to the wall. Tipping risk is an industry-wide problem.”
At the end of 2014, Ikea came under controversy when it sold its Premier world wall map bearing the appellation “Sea of Japan” instead of “the East Sea in Korea. The company also caused controversy over pricing as its product prices in Korea are higher than those in other countries. In addition, the delayed recall also made consumer confidence slip further. Under these circumstances, there is no doubt that consumers are not happy with the company’s announcement of business showings and plans.