IKEA

Since my friend recently moved into an apartment she was in need of some household items. What better store to go shopping at then, than IKEA! Our friend from Sweden also came along and she was really excited because it was cool seeing all this Swedish food again as well as signs in Swedish and so on. She translated a lot of the Swedish names given to merchandise and explained some of the cakes and other Swedish things to us.
In my marketing class last year the teacher asked us if anyone has been to IKEA in more than one country. I raised my hand because I've shopped there in Germany and the U.S. I was asked if there were any differences, and I replied that despite being in different countries, the IKEA stores had been much the same. That's the point: IKEA is the same in different countries because they don't adapt to the cultural differences. My teacher said that because of that, IKEA isn't doing well in Japan. The thing is, Japan is big on customer service and care. Some examples of this are that store clerks are always present and constantly greet you, trains always run on time, and announcements at train stations include a lot of details and information. IKEA is all about do-it-yourself, which is obvious in that there are rarely workers around the store to help shoppers, and customers are expected to bring their items and furniture home themselves and then put it together on their own. This is the complete opposite of the norm in Japan.
Though I heard that IKEA isn't doing well in Japan and that it's most likely due to all the stores around the world being the same and thereby not adapting to the local culture, IKEA was rather crowded when I went. There were people everywhere. I don't think I've ever been in an IKEA store that was that busy. When buying lunch, first we had to walk around the entire seating area and then wait because every single table was taken. It was difficult getting a place to sit. In the end, the time it took for lunch was one hour.
I heard from someone that Japanese people think IKEA is cool, probably because it's different. I don't think you can find anything like it, especially not in Japan.
The IKEA I usually go to, the one near my home, is nearly identical to the IKEA in Osaka. The only difference was that in addition to the Swedish and other European food served at the restaurant, here in Japan they also offer curry rice.

A bus took us from a train station in Osaka out to IKEA. It takes more than 20 minutes but it's free!