Will IKEA acolytes convert to BoConcept?

BRANDCHANNEL.COM: The Danes are known for sleek, efficient furniture design (see the brandchannel story on Denmark's ILVA), and the rapidly growing BoConcept brand is no exception.

Out to rival Sweden's IKEA as a grown-up, more sophisticated sibling, BoConcept wants to put its modern, clean sensibility into the homes of any urban metropolis you can think of. "Our goal is to be the number-one urban interiors brand in the world," says Tina Pilgaard, spokesperson for BoConcept.

The largest global retail furniture chain from Denmark, the brand boasts more than 200 standalone BoConcept Brand Stores and a greater number of BoConcept Studios (which appear inside other furniture stores) have opened in 47 countries over 14 years, with new stores in the US opening every four to five weeks.


Where IKEA's warehouse environs and impersonal DIY service can be daunting, BoConcept offers consumers (who are less intimidated by a higher-than-IKEA price tag than the idea of assemble-yourself furniture) a more civilized, genteel brand experience and urban-chic upscale vibe both in-store and online.

"Our brand promise is: We Know Big City Life," Pilgaard says. "That's how we develop our furniture. We make furniture for people who live in small spaces. And where we are in big cities, we are able to keep an eye on trends and understand what people are looking for."

The brand refers to its salespeople as "interior consultants" who provide the kind of personalized design advice one would expect at a pricey boutique, as opposed to a massive chain. In an attempt to mimic that sense of individualized attention online, BoConcept.com provides a free, downloadable floor plan/interior design program called Furnish® 3D that allows users to experiment with colors and furniture combinations.

This kind of soup-to-nuts service is a key factor in the type of luxe brand experience that BoConcept aims to emulate on a cookie-cutter scale, and lends itself to the success of the brand credo: "spread[ing] the beauty of modern furniture to the everyday person."

So how does this brand manage to scatter the seed of its brand name and sprout storefronts like errant dandelions in spring? The brand is for sale—anyone with a few hundred grand can open up a franchise.

"The franchise solution works very well for us because people who buy franchises are already attracted to the brand," says Pilgaard. "They've shopped with us before, and when they find out that they can buy into the company, they come into it with an understanding of the brand to begin with."

BoConcept also keeps costs down by producing its own furniture, something its consider reflective of its commitment to quality. "By producing our own furniture, we can get it the way we want it," Pilgaard claims. "Sure, we outsource some accessories, but we have full control over the execution of our own designs."

With the goal of furnishing each metropolis on the globe in sight, BoConcept intends to promote sleek Danish design to the masses with an immaculate, dedicated execution of their cohesive brand vision. "Through persistent and passionate performance, our brand mission is to make customized and coordinated design furniture and accessories affordable to the urban-minded shopper," Pilgaard says.

As long as the brand can keep producing modular furniture without producing sticker shock, it stands a pretty good chance of bringing its mission right into our living rooms.

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