IKEA Customers Coming Unglued?

It will be interesting to see whether IKEA [“A Retail Revolution Built on Furniture for the Masses,” Nov. 8] can strike the right balance between offering cheaper products and retaining consumer interest in self-assembly furniture.

Of my first two recent purchases of furniture at IKEA, one had 30 locknuts missing from the package and the other had ill-fitting drawers. The issues of assembly time, potential quality-control problems and a labyrinth-like store layout that makes quick trips to obtain particular items next to impossible may become unpopular with increasingly time-conscious American and European consumers.

The company’s aggressive penetration into emerging economies may be one way to mitigate a potential drop in demand for self-assembly products in industrialized nations.

MARK HABERECHT

Rowland Heights