Ikea enlists Google head for web push
Swedish furniture company Ikea has enlisted former Google Sweden head Stina Honkamaa Bergfors to its board, part of a bid to make the retailer's presence online more solid and vibrant.
"Stina's specialist competencies within international media in a dynamic environment, in combination with her knowlege of e-commerce and a strong customer focus profile, makes her an excellent addition to our board," said Göran Grosskopf, board chair of the Netherlands-based Ingka Holdings which steers the empire of flat-pack tsar Ingvar Kamprad.
"Our stores will always be our most important base, but we see that e-commerce is picking up very quickly," he told business daily Dagens Industri (DI). "Just the past few years so much has happened and we have to, of course, follow trends and develop to stay alive."
"We wanted to get a younger (board) and also looked for women candidates, which is good for diversity," Grosskopf added. "Stina has been on our radar for many years."
VIDEO: Gravity spoof rockets Ikea to viral fame
Honkamaa Bergfors spent five years heading Google and YouTube Sweden, before setting up her own company United Screens. DI noted that she had used YouTube as a broadcast channel to her advantage in her own venture, and queried whether video content could become part of a bid to make Ikea's presence more solid online.
"Ikea is already good at that, but I'm sure it can be developed," she told the newspaper. "Via YouTube you can reach millions of users all over the world, so it offers a very exciting possibility to communicate with customers."
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"Stina's specialist competencies within international media in a dynamic environment, in combination with her knowlege of e-commerce and a strong customer focus profile, makes her an excellent addition to our board," said Göran Grosskopf, board chair of the Netherlands-based Ingka Holdings which steers the empire of flat-pack tsar Ingvar Kamprad.
"Our stores will always be our most important base, but we see that e-commerce is picking up very quickly," he told business daily Dagens Industri (DI). "Just the past few years so much has happened and we have to, of course, follow trends and develop to stay alive."
"We wanted to get a younger (board) and also looked for women candidates, which is good for diversity," Grosskopf added. "Stina has been on our radar for many years."
VIDEO: Gravity spoof rockets Ikea to viral fame
Honkamaa Bergfors spent five years heading Google and YouTube Sweden, before setting up her own company United Screens. DI noted that she had used YouTube as a broadcast channel to her advantage in her own venture, and queried whether video content could become part of a bid to make Ikea's presence more solid online.
"Ikea is already good at that, but I'm sure it can be developed," she told the newspaper. "Via YouTube you can reach millions of users all over the world, so it offers a very exciting possibility to communicate with customers."
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