WEBVTT - Why is IKEA obsessed with building a Better Meatball? 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.960 Guess what, mangos, that will all right. So this is 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:04.920 just a tip in case you ever find yourself in 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.720 the Netherlands, do not try to play Hide and Seek 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:11.200 an Ikea stores there. It's totally banned. What but Ikea 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:12.840 seems like the best place in the world to play 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.560 hidn't see a click with all those beds and closets 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:17.919 and house plants, I know. And I've got to say 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.400 ike has been cool with so many things over the years. 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.960 I mean, they've accommodated giants sleepovers. One time they allowed 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:26.160 a hundred cats to be released in the store just 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:28.880 for the fun of it. And in Shanghai, when seven 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.880 year old widows and widowers started using the free coffee 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.240 as an excuse to pick up singles, Ikia actually blocked 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:37.320 off corners of the store for them, you know, just 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:39.480 so they could flirt a little bit. Kind of cute 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:42.600 to think about. But when over thirty thousand Hide and 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.600 Seek fans signed up on Facebook to play a massive game, 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:48.680 that's where the company drew the line. In fact, here's 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:51.960 the official statement let me find it here. Martinez Smedberg 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.480 gave this to Bloomberg. It says we need to make 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:56.760 sure people are safe in our stores, and that's hard 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.680 to do if we don't know where they are. I mean, 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:01.720 she's on it sounds like she's anti hide and seek, 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.320 but she's really just, you know, against these thirty thousand 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:08.480 fully grown humans hiding in her But reading about that 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.040 policy made me curious about all the non human things 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.400 hiding out in Ikea, and that's what today's show is 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:31.720 all about. Yeah, Heather podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:33.640 I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:37.240 good friend Man Gueshot Ticketer, and today we're talking about Ikea, 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:39.920 how the company got its start, the secrets hiding in 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.679 those flat pack boxes, and a whole lot more. But 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:44.400 before we begin, we just wanted to say a big 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:45.959 thank you to all the people who have taken the 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.560 time to write such nice reviews about our show, and 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:50.960 all the people who have taken the time to email us. Seriously, 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:53.400 thank you so much for listening. I know it's funny, like, 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.880 especially in contrast to what we talked about last week, 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.720 all those one star reviews of the Vatican right, it's 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.480 so heartwarming to see all these like notes pouring and 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.200 it's a little tricky because we can't just respond to 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.200 the reviewers and right right, so, um, I know you 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:09.640 were talking about this, and I was talking about this, 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:11.960 and we were thinking maybe we should get people to 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:14.960 write into the email account part time genius at how 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:18.440 stuff works dot com and send in their favorite furniture 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:22.120 or meatball related facts because of Ikea, right of course, 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:27.520 and uh, and send their address and their T shirt 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:31.000 size and we will pick the best twenty um facts 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:32.840 and send you a T shirt. Alright, alright, so the 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:35.040 best twenty that come in that can be about furniture 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.919 or meatballs, or maybe bonus points because somebody who comes 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:41.600 up with a fact that incorporates furniture and meatballs. Now, also, 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.320 remember we talked about in the last episode, we have 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:46.520 a new fact hot line because we're here for you. 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:48.840 We know how many interesting things you guys have to share. 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:52.640 That's one eight four four pt genius, all right, so 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:54.200 we look forward to hearing from you. And again it's 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:56.680 part time genius at how stuff works dot com, So 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.680 looking forward to hearing those facts. All right, enough with 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.480 this happiness, mango, I think we should tell people the 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:06.079 most surprising fact we found out about Ikea to determine 0:03:06.080 --> 0:03:08.000 who gets to kick off the show. So that's how 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:09.920 we're going to start this home. Yeah, yeah, I think so. 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.240 I'm game off, But why don't you start? All right? 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:15.519 The thing I'm always going to think about every time 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:17.720 I go into an Ikea store from now on is 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:21.880 that Hailey Joel Osmond was discovered in an Ikea. What. Yeah, 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:26.400 Apparently the Burbank Ikea is a celebrity destination and casting directors. 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.600 They used to use this to set up tables in 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.000 the front. They take polaroids of every kid who came 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:33.040 into the store. I don't know if they ask permission 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.320 or not, but that's where Haley Joel was discovered. That's 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:38.440 pretty wild. I mean I just figured his parents for 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:41.200 you know, typical stage parents and forcing him to go 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:45.160 to auditions. But I really love that there's a Hollywood Ikea. 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:47.360 It actually reminds me of this time my friend went 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:49.520 to a home depot and this guy cut him off 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:51.840 in the parking lot and uh and then the driver 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:55.000 waved this sort of nice apology and smiled, and it 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:59.760 turned out to be Justice Scalia. Be Justice like Supreme 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:02.520 Court justices shop at home depot. They're just like us. 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:06.720 Not not not like Justice Gary Scalio the State Court there. Wow, 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.480 that's amazing. Okay, I know I'm getting off track here, 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:11.880 but my favorite Supreme Court justice fact is that third 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.800 Good Marshall loved so proper I remember this, or at 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:16.760 least he loved days of our lives and he watched 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:20.039 it every single day. That that fact honestly makes me 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:22.160 so happy. I think we got a little track here, 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:27.040 back back here. So I read this U super weird 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.840 press release that I can put out that they are 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:32.880 now the biggest provider of certified seafood in the world, 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.520 the biggest. I mean, that's just unfathomable to me. Wow, 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:38.320 that's okay. I think you beat me with your facts. 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:40.880 And I know we don't want to keep talking about 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:42.600 food forever, but we should talk about it here for 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:44.960 a bit because I found some crazy facts on this topic. 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:46.720 Two and I know that's where you wanted to start 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.520 the discussion anyway. So before that, that sounds good. So actually, 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:52.039 before I get to that, I just wanted to tell 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.840 this quick story from when an Ikea moved into my 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.200 old neighborhood a few years ago, and it kind of 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.560 illustrates how savvy the company is so a lot of 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:02.880 people didn't want this big box store to come in, 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.400 and there was all this uproar about it. Right, But 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.880 then I Kea did a number of really smart things, 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.480 and one of them was that the bus service to 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:13.400 the neighborhood had always been really spotty, and I have 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:15.960 paid for a more frequent bus line with new buses, 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:18.400 and that led people to the store, but also better 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:20.800 serve the neighborhood. And then they did a whole thing 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.760 of hiring within the local community, which again made people 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.279 so much more accepting of it. They built the cafe 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.320 with this beautiful view of the harbor, and once the 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:32.800 store was actually in, people had few complaints and in fact, 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.600 it kind of became this popular cheap date night day, 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:38.640 like for married people. Know, it was like this ironic 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.240 first date, like you take someone on the bus and uh, 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:43.800 eat the super cheap meal at the cafe which had 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:46.479 this incredible view of the Statue of Liberty, and then 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.640 I guess a joke about your potential life together. But 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:52.400 the thing that really made the whole thing work and 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.920 appealing was how cheap the food was. It's definitely a deal. 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:57.760 I mean I remember saying that you can get too 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.960 hot dogs ana soda for two bucks, or you know 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:03.560 this really filling plate of pasta and meatballs for not 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:06.039 much more than that. Yeah, so I actually looked up 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:08.520 the menu for this episode to refresh myself, and the 0:06:08.560 --> 0:06:12.279 prices are outrageous. So that play of pasta and meatballs 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.880 it's three dollars, And for a stuffed chicken with artichoke 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.760 and parmesan and two sides of vegetables, it's just a 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.039 dollar more. And going back to the seafood thing, you 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.160 can get a nice kind of salmon for around six 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.440 or seven dollars, like they want you to be able 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:29.040 to feed your entire family for under twenty dollars. Are 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:31.159 we getting paid for this because this is a commercial 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:33.840 for Ikea? But but I'm guessing there's more to it 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.320 than this. I'm guessing Ikea is treating the food like 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:37.919 a lost leader, you know, kind of the way the 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:40.520 grocery stores treat milk. You get, you know, you keep 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:42.400 the costs low, You're willing to lose a little bit 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:44.960 of money on it to bring the customers in the door, 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.599 and then you make your profits elsewhere. Sure, and that's 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:49.440 what I thought, too, right, But the reason I was 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.160 giving you those prices is that it's so much more 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:54.919 clever than that. Right, So everything in Ikea has a 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.880 story that ties back to its folksy origin. Part of 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.880 it is that the founder var Compra had this philosophy 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.560 back from when he started selling goods to farmers and 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.200 he realized that no one wanted to do business hungry. 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:08.760 So the foods sort of this down home way of 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:12.280 making you feel welcome. Also their I hear workers who 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.600 swear that the cafeteria is just a great place for 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.440 indecisive couples to like figure out what they really want. 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.440 They've seen these families come in and you and I 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:22.360 have seen this too, right where you just see them 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.840 like testing a couch and sitting and testing and discussing 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:27.920 and and then the couple goes to get a bite, 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:31.240 and during that conversation away from the showroom, that's where 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.920 they can really focus on their decision and decide whether 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:35.840 or not to make a purchase. Right, right, And it 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:38.760 makes sense. And having a cafeteria in the building keeps 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.760 you in the store, right, So having the food there, 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.280 it gives you one less reason to leave. And remember 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.720 I keas are often in remote destinations, so families have 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.440 to travel to get there. But here's the real kicker 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.400 and why the low priced food is so genius. And 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:55.320 I never would have figured this out on my own, 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:57.440 but I read this interview in the New York Post 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.000 with a former Ikea chef and he said, the food, 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:03.320 it is basically a framing device. The point is, you 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.200 don't actually know five dollars is a good value for 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.800 an Ikea couch. It could be a hundred dollars over 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.800 the worth or a hundred dollars under, and most shoppers 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:14.480 wouldn't have a clue. But you do know hot dogs 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:19.160 right and exactly, and you know the fifty cents for 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.520 a tasty hot dog is a great deal. Or three 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:23.960 dollars for a plate of pasta. I mean, it's kind 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.000 of the best deal you're gonna get outside of cooking 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:29.120 the food yourself. So shoppers think, if Ikea is giving 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:31.160 me this hot dog at cost, they've got to be 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:33.760 doing the same for the furniture. That is really smart. 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:35.400 I mean. But although I have to say it's kind 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:37.920 of funny to think about food being at cost because 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.160 the whole store, I mean, it's built on customers constructing 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:45.640 the furniture for themselves. Yeah, I had thought about that. Actually. 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.560 You know, there's so many meanings online about the assembly 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:51.840 required furniture, Like there was one that made me laugh. 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.280 It was just a picture. It said happy birthday, Ikea, 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.800 we made you a cake, and then underneath there was 0:08:56.840 --> 0:09:00.160 a bag of sugar, some flour, butter if you candles, 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:05.280 and under it said some assembly required, which isn't exactly fair, 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:07.560 but the way they use the cafe prices as a 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.679 framing device, it totally works. Yeah. Yeah, and it's actually brilliant. 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:12.640 I mean, we should probably tell the listeners not to 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:14.640 worry because we'll move off food in a minute. But 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.080 before we do, there's one thing we have to talk about, meatballs, 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.000 So I was hoping you'd bring those up. I mean, 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:25.199 meatballs are definitely a Kia's best selling product. It's insane 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.680 how much money the cafe actually brings in. I found 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:31.439 this figure from two thousand thirteen. The Ikea cafeteria was 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.920 already doing one point five billion dollars of business back then. 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.720 But the meatballs are the lynchpin to the menu, and 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:41.160 internally they're actually referred to as the best sofa seller. 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.000 That's true. I mean what's amazing to me is that 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:48.000 the meatball actually kind of encapsulates the Ikea philosophy. And 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.920 why's that Well, Oliver Rohtor did this great article for 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.880 five thirty eight and he showed the economics of Ikea 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:57.439 and that Ikea products follow this strange kind of survival 0:09:57.440 --> 0:10:00.480 of the fittest model. So basically, any furn sure that's 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:02.640 lasted for a while. I mean, you think about the 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:05.800 Billy bookcase or the lack table, or you know, any 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.680 of the all stars from their catalog, and they've lasted 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.520 because i Kea has consistently been able to tweak the 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.600 product to shave cost. You know, year after year they 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:16.679 do this, and so what this means is that they 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.320 can keep offering it a lower and lower price to 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.040 the customer. So when Ikia can't do that, you know, 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.800 for a product can't evolve to be made cheaper, that's 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:28.160 when they just kill it off. And the meatballs well, 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.080 actually they're the epitome of that. So not only has 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.880 the company figured out how to make more profitable meatballs 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:37.680 year after year, but you you've heard of Space tell right, yeah, 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.280 it's h he has secret innovation lab. They're pretty amazing Yeah. 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.400 So Space Tent is constantly eyeing the future, and one 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:48.240 of their projects is meatball focus that it's actually called 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:52.440 Tomorrow's Meatball. I'm not making I really want to. I 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:54.920 want to be on that team, that Tomorrow's meatball team. 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:57.800 But they have all these prototypes, from a meatball made 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.280 from artificial meat grown in a lab, to a three 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:03.920 D printed ball to a crispy bug ball, and while 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.320 none of those are hitting the menu anytime soon, it 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:08.960 does show how the company is looking at the simplest 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.079 things they can do in the simplest ways they can 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:14.079 produce these things, and even with that, they're trying to 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:16.640 figure out how to tweak the design and serve, you know, 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:19.800 a changing world while they're increasing their profits of course, 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:22.800 of course. Yeah. But but let's shift gears for a second, 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.040 because I want to talk about Jonathan Colton and his 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.120 song Ikea. Do you know the song? Why? I know 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:30.960 Jonathan Colton, I don't know the song. Yeah, he's hilarious, 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:33.240 but his song Ikea has this one lyric I love 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.480 it goes Ikea just some oak and some pine and 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:40.800 a handful of norsemen. Ikea selling furniture to college kids 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:46.080 and divorcement nice sounds about right. So as I was researching, 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.960 I kept thinking about that line, which is obviously funny, 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.200 but it occurred to me. I've always thought of Ikea 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:54.839 is kind of a starter brand, like it's the thing 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:57.360 people are drawn to in their first apartments or as 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:01.439 they're embarking on new stages, because it's reliable and stylish 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.400 without bringing the bank. It's almost like the signifier that 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.319 you're on the road to responsibility. But what's funny is 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:09.280 that I read this, uh the story in the New Yorker, 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.520 the one by Lauren Collins. Yeah, and and it's really good. 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.480 But one of the many lines that struck me in 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:17.800 it was that she referred to Ikea as the chief 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:21.599 anthropologist of homes, and she mentions how much research the 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.880 brand actually compiles to understand and then hook customers at 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:28.480 different stages of life, like they know the ideal size 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.560 of modern bathroom storage and what the split should be 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.640 between spouses because more and more men have been buying 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:38.439 more and more grooming products reasonally, or how the Ikea 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:41.360 tupperware and they referenced this in the catalogs, how it's 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:43.920 meant to accommodate the half can of tomatoes and an 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.600 ounce of Coast Coast recipe you just found, Like it's 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:49.920 really specific. It's say, that's pretty precise. How do they 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:53.000 know I like Coast Coast and they're actually designing for 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.600 like every momentous change in your life. Yeah, the amount 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.920 of information they've collected is really amazing. I actually have 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.560 the eight stages of life they target. I printed it 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:06.360 out here and here the categories. It's babies, toddlers, starting school, 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:11.719 tweens and teens, single slash, starting out, single slash established, 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:16.520 living together slash starting out and living together slash established. 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:18.640 It's crazy just to read these things, you know. So 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.160 they're looking at your life stages, and you know the 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:23.360 crib you suddenly have to buy as you plan to 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:25.280 have a baby, or the couch you'll want when you 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:28.480 have your first job, and then all the easy upgrades 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.040 from there, so the crib turns into a toddler bed, 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.720 the bookshelf you can stack next to the bookshelf when 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.480 your partner moves in. But the targeting definitely starts early. 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:40.800 There was this internal memo I saw that said, infant 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.920 cots are our ticket to building a lifelong relationship with 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.360 our core customers. You know. Um. One of the things 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.160 I found fascinating was that all the design actually starts 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.120 with the price. What do you mean by that, Well, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.120 if you look at the design briefs, the I sends 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:56.080 around to their team and will be like, we need 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.160 a better looking spatula for a buck fifty in gray 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.559 and white. But the price I Kea wants for it 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:04.920 is actually in the specifications from the start. And that's 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:08.640 because cost and design their linked from conception. If one 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.080 of them isn't there, the product never gets off the ground. 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.240 I mean that that's pretty fascinating. What's also interesting to 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:17.320 me is that they're studying and designing for the whole globe, 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:20.200 so not just for one location. Like they figured out 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:23.400 the elements that cut across cultures and how to sell 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:26.400 a bed or a bookshelf that's plain enough but also 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.360 stylish enough to appeal the deal seekers in every market. 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:31.480 So you see this even in their catalog. So the 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.960 catalog and US might have a Golden retriever on the 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.680 couch and they'll photoshop that out if if you know, 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.400 if it's for like the Saudi catalog, Well they also 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.160 photo shop the women out of the Saudi catalog cut 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:45.400 them a little flak, but put your points absolutely right. 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:48.480 They found a couch that they can hawk across multiple markets, 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.520 right right, and that's what keeps, you know, the cost 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.000 going lower and lower those economies of scale. Speaking of 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.640 across the globe, Bloomberg used to run a Billy bookcase index, 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.680 where economists listed the price to the bookcase in various cultures. 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.360 And it's pretty fascinating, or was fascinating to look at. 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:07.000 It would help him understand the value of currency in 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:10.000 different markets. But it's so bizarre to me that the 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.080 cost was so wildly different between the markets. Like in 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:16.120 the UAE, for example, the billy used to cost about 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:19.640 forty six dollars, and then in Israel it was more 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:21.600 than twice that much. It was at a hundred and 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:25.200 three dollars, which is just crazy. That's crazy. By the way. 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.320 One thing I found really funny when I was looking 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.880 at this like cross culture stuff, was that people in 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.760 England really seemed to hate building the furniture themselves. And 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.920 maybe this happens in other countries too, but I found 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:38.720 a number of mom and pop shops that were specifically 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.680 dedicated to like building your ikea furniture free. I could 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.760 use that. I could use that. All right, We're definitely 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:45.920 gonna talk flat packs and the cult of ike as 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.440 billionaire founder. But before we do that, how about we 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:54.040 break for a little quiz? Sounds good. Our guest today 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.480 is Grady Hendricks, author of My Best Friends Exorcism, and 0:15:57.520 --> 0:15:59.840 also the reason we have him on today's show is 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:03.200 because he's the author of the wonderful book Horror Store, 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:07.240 which looks like a beautifully designed Ikea catalog but takes 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:11.760 place in a totally different setting, the Orsk Superstore in Cleveland. 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.520 Welcome to the show, Grady, Thanks for having me here. 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.920 So Grady, I've read that you do an insane amount 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:19.640 of research for your books. Like I heard that you 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:22.760 mapped out all the weather for each day for where 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:26.479 My Best Friends Exorcism, so so it was accurate and um. 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:28.080 And then I read that you interviewed a ton of 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:30.120 people at Ikea to learn more about the stories, and 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.320 I was curious, how did that inform your writing? You know, 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.080 it's actually the reason I wound up calling it worse. 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.840 It wasn't just because my publisher was scared we get 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.840 sued by idea, but also because everyone I talked to 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:44.840 from my key and probably I talked about it about 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:48.960 a dozen folks who worked there unprompted. They all said 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.200 really nice things about Ikea, and that's really rare for 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.840 people who work in retail. But you know, as far 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.840 as it goes, it's a pretty decent employer. Um. You know, 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:01.360 no one has murdered uh to like protein bars for 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.280 the other other employees. No one turned into meat ball 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.560 for the cafeteria. They all go home with all their 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:08.439 body parts at the end of the day. And I 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:10.920 think as far as big box retail goes in the US, 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:14.560 that's that's pretty good. Yeah. I do have to ask, though, 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.000 having having done this book, are are you banned from 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.760 my keas? No? But I sort of self banned myself. 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:22.879 I spent so much time in them while I was 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:25.080 writing it, and then I didn't go in one for 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:26.760 about a year and a half. And I went in 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.119 and one in New York to do an interview with 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:31.320 someone right when the book was coming out, and they're 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:34.640 all made out the same, and I suddenly started doing 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.160 this real panic reaction, like, oh my god, where am 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:39.120 I Am I in my book? Am I in somewhere room? 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:43.159 I I mean in Florida, I really was disorienting. So um, 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.240 I only order i Kea online. Now that's very great. 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:49.400 And what about the idea to design this as a catalog. 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.119 It's it's so inventive. Did you did you come up 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:53.600 with that from the starter or was that something you 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:57.040 imposed on it later? No, that was actually Jason, my 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:00.439 editor's idea, and he that was that was his baby 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:02.800 from the beginning in terms of this will look like 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:06.000 an IKEA catalog. And then the nice thing about work 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:08.600 is because it's so small, they actually listen to the 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:10.679 author when you talk about design, and they let you 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:14.200 be involved with that conversation. And so Jason and Andy 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:16.320 read the designer and myself we just started to feed 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:17.720 off of each other. You know, well what if we 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:20.119 had a furniture description beginning to each chapter? Well what 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:22.639 if they change, you know? And then I have written 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:25.480 catalog copy and stuff in the past, so you know 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:27.760 everything in there, right down to the small print on 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:30.520 the order form. I insisted on sort of doing myself, 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.879 which was a really poor idea. I'm gonna say I 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:37.560 love Quirk like, I really think that they play so 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:40.640 well with authors and and and so so much attention 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.400 goes to all the details. I really love that. So 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:45.560 so it is will will your next project be with 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.880 Quirk And if so, what are you working on next? Yeah? 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:51.680 The next book I have coming out from them is UM. 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.040 It's called Paperbacks from Hell, and it's actually a nonfiction 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:59.120 book coming out this September. It's about UM, the history 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:01.520 of horror paid for backs in the seventies and eighties. 0:19:01.520 --> 0:19:04.120 I think everyone who was a live around them remembers 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.640 those really lurid covers of the foil and the embossing 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:10.560 and the die cuts that showed, you know, the girl's 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:12.480 face and then you open it up and it's like, oh, 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:15.320 the beings on the end of the bear and board 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.280 like you know it's UM and and those sort of 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.560