Meatballs, IKEA and India

iStock/Thinkstock

What do meatballs, IKEA and India all have in common?  The approval of the Indian government.  As it turns out:

The Indian government may allow Swedish furniture retailer IKEA to follow its global model and open stores with cafeterias that feature their signature meatballs. Commerce minister Anand Sharma said on Wednesday that the government has taken a favourable view of the matter. 

Apparently, IKEA has a global business model and feels it ought not change it for anybody or any country.

Read the entire article:  IKEA's meatballs may be on its Indian menu after all

Related article:  India Looks Favorably on IKEA Plan

The Perils of Globalization

iStock/Thinkstock

Is the Swedish furniture giant Ikea selling sex? Oh please. Here's the headline:

IKEA red-faced over product that sounds like sex.

Ikea, the Swedish furniture giant hires translator to vet merchandise as product names run afoul of Thailand’s conservative mores. Their story is just the latest example of the perils of names in a globalized economy.

Read the entire article here.

One more tidbit:

The company, which launched its fifth-largest superstore in Bangkok last year, realized that terms like Jättebra, for a plant pot, can echo a crude Thai term for sex.