The Chinese market for high-end furniture is continuously growing. In the following years, the demand should grow by 18.3% annually. Ekornes attempts to market Stressless as a more reputable brand in China. Ekornes states in their 2013 annual report that, “Ekornes shall make Stressless the world’s best-known furniture brand, and the brand shall be famous for quality and comfort.”[2]  The company’s vision shows that Ekornes is aware of the market opportunities and aims to be competitive through its innovative technologies. The two important factors are the internal match to position the brand and its value.

In order to position the brand and its value properly, the external factors have to be in line. According to the surveys and the focus group, the Chinese people mentioned that sofas and recliners have to be comfortable. Furthermore, the customers’ needs are to own a sofa that is not only comfortable, but also with a beautiful design and emphasizes luxury with a expensive look and feel. Since the living space in China is not huge, sofas should fit proportionally to the living room; preferably in a corner and should have space for storage. Additionally, referring to the answers of the survey, the Chinese people are not willing to pay a premium price for furniture. Many of the people surveyed are willing to spend less than RMB 10,000 on a sofa. The customer needs and drivers of demand do not fit the brand value, which are - its beauty is excellence in comfort and innovative technology - all capabilities Ekornes have. The decreasing sales may correlate to that loss and many people are not aware of the brand. Compared to Starbucks, Stressless has no obvious brand value.

Through direct contact with Ekornes, our team found out that Ekornes is aware of some of the problems in the Chinese market. Therefore, the international marketing director of Ekornes pointed out that the strategy for the Chinese market would change in April 2015. Ekornes will stop the partnership with agencies that are responsible for the sales of Stressless in China at the moment. To adapt to the Chinese market, the company is planning to establish a sales team in China. Their task is to increase sales volume, decrease furniture prices, and improve customer service. During our ghost-shopping experience, our team came across cold, unfriendly employees, and service in the store. This creates an uncomfortable atmosphere for customers and prospects and will not promote future buying decisions.

In order to properly position the brand and achieve brand value that the company aims for, we recommend adapting the design to the Chinese market, as the current functions do not match with customer’s needs. For the most part, Chinese people like to lie down on the sofas. The Stressless sofas are not comfortable when lying down which contradicts their patented technology. And adaption to the body only functions when someone sits on the sofa. Consequently, they do not satisfy the most sought after attribute. We suggest adapting the technology so that it is comfortable and healthy when lying down on the sofa.

Moreover, the sizes of the office chairs are too big as space is limited in Chinese households. We recommend reducing the size accordingly. Additionally we would change the design of the sofas to make it more suitable for living room corners and might a space saving or storage system.

We assume that Ekornes over-estimated its brand and its brand value. The firm believes that Stressless is competitive through its comfort and innovative technology. However, our results show that many consumers are not aware of the brand and the innovative technology and comfort do not lead them to become a leader in the market. To increase brand value, the stores should overhaul its design and implement something classier because customers enjoy a holistic shopping experience. The stores should have different design areas to cater to differing consumers tastes and preferences. That way, customers will be proud to purchase and showcase furniture from Ekornes Stressless in their homes.