January 24th, 2008 categories: Design, For Fun
Over the past few years, swapping clothing, books, music and movies has taken off around the world, with groups meeting for swaps offline and online. Now, according to the kids at Springwise, flat-pack behemoth IKEA is organizing a furniture swap at its Amsterdam store: a husselmarkt. The swap, which will take place on February 9th, will let up to 250 people bring in furniture—which doesn’t have to be made by IKEA—and swap it for items brought in by others. IKEA will also add 12.000 euros worth of furniture to the mix.
The event is part of a marketing campaign that encourages customers to think like designers, which includes experimenting by rearranging furniture they already have (roughly translated, husselen means to shuffle, or move around). To help people redesign their living spaces, IKEA offers a tool on husselen.nl that lets users draw a room as it’s currently arranged, and then move around pieces on-screen. Any furniture that no longer fits their rearranged room can be brought to the husselmarkt.
It might seem contradictory from a business point of view: if people swap, they’ll buy less. But IKEA knows that once a consumer rearranges a room, or gets a new couch (even if it isn’t strictly new), they’re likely to want a new rug, lamp or table to complete the makeover.
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January 23rd, 2008 categories: Design, Home Buying, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Real Estate, Trends
According to Iconoculture’s latest consumer observations newsletter, a backlash against Mansion Mania is taking place in America and is seeking to put the squeeze on house size. Here’s what they say is happening and their comments about what this means to business…
WHAT’S HAPPENING
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WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
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January 23rd, 2008 categories: Finances, Home Buying, Home Ownership, Mortgages
In a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune, Dana Williams (Real Estate Broker and Mayor of Park City, UT) made an interesting comment on a place where two out of every three dwellings are second homes…
“In tough economic times, when there is a downturn in the economy, people tighten their belts and don’t buy second homes. But the multimillion-dollar homes, nothing affects that market. They’re recession-proof. And they usually aren’t purchased with mortgages.”
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January 22nd, 2008 categories: Design, For Fun, Green Living
In December and earlier this month we wrote about four US companies selling what we called eco-starter kits. Like gift baskets filled with cheese and fruit, the kits contain an assortment of items, all with a ‘green’ twist: reusable water bottles and grocery bags, energy-saving light bulbs and eco-friendly cleaning products. All of the kits carry an implied message, namely that a few changes in our individual buying habits can make a significant difference in our impact on the earth. Ideally, the kits’ users will continue to buy the eco-friendly products they contain, nicely multiplying the planet-saving impact.
Now, the folks at Springwise have spotted one in the United Kingdom, too, and by a brand they’ve covered before. Back in in March 2006, they wrote about greentomatocars, an earth-friendly car service that exclusively uses fuel-miserly Toyota Prius hybrids, brightly decorated with green tomato designs. The firm’s greentomato eco-kits sell for GBP 9.99, in keeping with the founders’ philosophy that green products should be competitive in price and quality with similar products on the market.
Is greentomato building a multi-product, Virgin Group-like brand around its catchy name and eco-friendly philosophy? Perhaps!
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