Ikea designs and produces its own products to sell, basing its design initiatives on its detailed insights into what customers want. But when it realized that customers wanted more tech-oriented options, it also recognized that it needed some expertise that it lacked in-house. Thus, it entered into a collaboration with the high-end audio company Sonos to start developing an entirely new line of items, unlike anything else available on the market.
The collaboration began several years ago, but the two partners were determined to take their time, to ensure the end product was just right. They kept the partnership secret and carefully experimented with various options and ideas. The first two items, sold under the brand label Symfonisk, hit Ikea stores recently: a floating bookshelf with embedded speakers and a lamp whose base integrates the sophisticated speakers that Sonos is known for marketing. Both products are relatively simply in appearance, but that look belies the complex and detailed design requirements associated with bringing them to market.
In particular, the demands and elements motivating the two companies’ design perspectives differ. Ikea seeks a visually appealing look to the furniture and accessories it sells. Sonos is interested mainly in providing the highest quality sound. Thus when designing the floating bookshelf, Sonos had to figure out where to place the physical speakers so that the acoustic vibrations would resonate appropriately and provide clear sound. For the lamp, the challenge was figuring out how to integrate all these heat-producing components within a base and avoid overheating.
Beyond the design challenges, the collaboration required careful consideration of pricing. Sonos speakers fetch a premium price, signaling their quality and good reputation. But Ikea insisted that even Sonos’s lowest price point, at $150, was way too high. The two firms had to find a way to get to the price at which the first two products were introduced: about $180 for the lamp and less than $100 for the bookshelf.
An easier aspect of the collaboration pertained to the two companies’ similar views on the importance of furniture and other in-home pieces for creating a sense of place. They seek to enable consumers to build the exact atmosphere they desire in their living spaces, and combining appealing furniture with functional musical speakers goes far in that direction.
These two products are just the first entries into the Symfonisk line; both partners anticipate further introductions in the future. At the same time, Ikea continues to develop other tech-integrated products, such as a bedside table with a charging station integrated into it. But while the Swedish retailer feels confident in its own furniture design skills, it seeks help when necessary, to ensure everything that comes out under its brand aegis lives up to its customers’ well-established expectations.

Discussion Question:

1. What type of brand applies to the new merchandise developed in collaboration by Ikea and Sonos?
2. How will these new products fit into IKEA’s current merchandising strategy?

Source: Mark Wilson, Fast Company, April 8, 2019. See also Caroline Jansen, “Ikea, Sonos Reveal 1st Products in Collaboration,” Retail Dive, April 9, 2019