Retailers work to brand home goods; Image is critical as chains seek edge, consumers eye fresh perspectives.(Special Report: Shelter)

Advertising Age, April, 2004 by Cardona, Mercedes M.

Byline: MERCEDES M. CARDONA

Saturday afternoons, the Ikea store in Hicksville, N.Y., is a madhouse. Entire families barrel down the aisles maneuvering carts laden with furniture and housewares, pondering how much work is required to assemble a wardrobe, and impulse-buying decorative pillows and end tables.

The Swedish furniture retailer has seen a change in the consumer market since it arrived in the U.S. in the late 1980s. Ten to 15 years ago, consumers tended to buy furniture for a lifetime, but today "they're more interested in finding something that fits with their lifestyle now,'' says Rich D'Amico, new-business development manager at Ikea North America.

And that's good news for home-oriented retailers, which are in land-grab mode,...

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