Ikea Exploring Home Decor in Space
Does the world need another shelter magazine?
Ikea thinks so. The Swedish-based home furnishings giant, which is known as much for its marketing know-how as well as its design, has launched a hybrid publication--part catalog, part magazine.
The debut issue of the quarterly lifestyle “maga-log” called Space combines the same whimsy and commercial savvy that have made the franchise retail chain popular with shoppers around the globe. The magazine, which has been arriving in the mail at some homes in Southern California, was scheduled to be launched at a gala party Wednesday night in Manhattan. It will be on newsstands and in bookstores in about 10 days.
The magazine represents one more transition in Ikea’s growth, said Marty Marston, spokeswoman for Ikea, North America. “It goes beyond a catalog. We want to present Ikea as a lifestyle trendsetter and that’s why we are spotlighting our own products as part of a full range of merchandise.”
The unusual format, she said, is based on Ikea’s first magazine, called Room, circulated in Great Britain.
Space, produced by an international staff, is published jointly by John Brown Custom Publishing in London and Meigher Communications in New York, publisher of several niche magazines including Garden Design.
In a welcoming essay, the editors note that: “Ikea believes that it’s everyone’s right to live with well-designed, affordable furniture . . . but also realizes that once you get these items under your roof, everything changes. It’s hard enough to choose your dream sofa, but it’s an altogether different challenge when it’s in your living room, waiting to be accessorized with the rest of your furniture. Relax. Space is here to help.”
The magazine is clearly a study of artful presentation. Throughout its 98 pages, there is a blend of editorial and advertising copy. Features range from colorful rooms for creative kids to ideas for lighting every room of the house, smoothly plugging Ikea products here and there.
The premiere issue offers an opening review of new products on the home market (at last Apple Computer has introduced an iBook laptop computer to go with the its suave iMac PC!), a sampling of new books including Frank Gehry’s “Gehry Talks: About Architecture + Process” (Rizzoli) and a sprinkling of information about new restaurants and hip hotels across the country.
More substantial features touch on health (a “Pilates Primer”), travel (“Viva Las Vegas”) and nostalgia (“A Swedish Christmas”). Ikea products are woven into such features as a profile of New Yorker Nansee Keiter, an inveterate collector whose treasured vases, cocktail shakers and Barbie dolls are displayed on vintage Ikea shelves.
The environmentally minded store, noted for pioneering the rental-and-mulch Christmas tree program, sharpens its eco-credentials with an offer to Ikea customers of a free compact florescent light bulb that “lasts 10 times longer and uses 75% less energy than a normal bulb.”
With a newsstand price of $2.95, the launch issue of Space bristles with subscription coupons offering substantial discounts--even an Ikea gift certificate--to those signing up for home delivery. It can be ordered online at https://www.ikea.com.
Connie Koenenn can be reached by e-mail at connie.koenenn@latimes.com.
