Wondering if the things carried in SD are equal to those we see in the US. Or are they geared more to a Carribean climate? Prices? Is our Ikea catalog similar to the items in SD?
their biggest mistake is they are not selling their famous swedish meatballs and sauce in their foodstore (only in the restaurant)...
btw... the only ikea i ever found where the salmon is cheaper than the meatballs.... lol
I thought the products were inferior to the US and certainly more expensive.
The selection seemed smaller too
Generally, I was quite disappointed (especially after the SD traffic!)
There were 5 of us and we all felt the same way
This is what I would expect someone to say after visiting an IKEA anywhere.
I thought the products were inferior to the US and certainly more expensive.
The selection seemed smaller too
Generally, I was quite disappointed (especially after the SD traffic!)
There were 5 of us and we all felt the same way
At this time, how is IKEA in Santo Domingo doing? The one I lived closest to that was in Emeryville, CA always had a full parking lot.
I do appreciate the competition aspect that IKEA brings to the DR, just not a personal fan of their style for most of their merchandise. My wife and I scanned their catalog and she didn't see anything she liked. Neither of us did. I won't be able to compare the one in Santo Domingo to the one I lived near because I never went into it. The only one I went to was in Taipei City ,Taiwan and it was truly nothing special.
The overall cost of living in the DR can still be modest when compared to the first world. Even in Santo Domingo when compared to US and other foreign cities of it's size and importance.Yes, IKEA is a welcome addition, forcing other stores to become more competitive. On service, it will be pretty much impossible for DR run businesses to catch up. On pricing, it shouldnt be difficult at all, IKEA here is very overpriced in many areas. For the price I can buy a desk in Conforama, i would have to pay more than double at IKEA for a far simpler version, and must assemble myself. The other furniture stores "that care" will now have to realize the 400% markup days are gone!
Will IKEA continue these record numbers after the hype is gone? difficult to say.When you consider that only 10% of the population here can afford these prices, you would think it will NOT...Somehow i guess its logical that the DR stores should be more expensive than USA as the USA competiton and ease of importing huge quantities, But really its always hard to understand when a 3rd world country basic costs of living are 50% more than the 1st world. So much for cutting expenses by living in Latin America-for that you will need to move to Panama, Equador, Mexico or Argentina.
Two things, and conveniently color coded to understand what responds to what:Yes, IKEA is a welcome addition, forcing other stores to become more competitive. On service, it will be pretty much impossible for DR run businesses to catch up. On pricing, it shouldnt be difficult at all, IKEA here is very overpriced in many areas. For the price I can buy a desk in Conforama, i would have to pay more than double at IKEA for a far simpler version, and must assemble myself. The other furniture stores "that care" will now have to realize the 400% markup days are gone!
Will IKEA continue these record numbers after the hype is gone? difficult to say.When you consider that only 10% of the population here can afford these prices, you would think it will NOT...Somehow i guess its logical that the DR stores should be more expensive than USA as the USA competiton and ease of importing huge quantities, But really its always hard to understand when a 3rd world country basic costs of living are 50% more than the 1st world. So much for cutting expenses by living in Latin America-for that you will need to move to Panama, Equador, Mexico or Argentina.
Two things, and conveniently color coded to understand what responds to what:
The actual percentage is much higher than 10%, in fact around 25% to 30% of the population falls in the upper middle/upper class brackets; and in those segments price sensitivity is practically non-existent. However, even taking your highly underestimated 10%, that would still amount to 1.2 million people; which is a decent number to not make someone think a store like IKEA would actually fail in the DR. And to think that the actual market is almost twice more than you estimated, and growing. Add to that the middle-middle class, which despite having to save and keep an eye on prices, would still be able to buy a few things there; and this segment is also growing.
That's because you need to get rid of the 'first world = best, third world = worst' mentality. In fact, people here should really stop using those terms, they are archaic. Price has little to do with whether a place is perceived as being the best or the worst, its all about production, delivery and market size. The DR is on an island and most things imported are done by sea, which is the most expensive form of transportation. All those other countries you mentioned are on the continent, are connected with the rest of the continent via roads, and can and do import much of what they need via trucks, which is much cheaper than ships. It doesn't take much to understand why living an imported products lifestyle is much more expensive in the DR than in a continent country.
People on DR1 (and I don't know if this is characteristic of the expat community in general or only of the most introverted types, who probably are the most likely to participate on DR1) need to stop thinking with feelings and erroneous judgments on the Dominican market. Also, need to stop the 1st world vs. 3rd world mentality, it hardly applies fully to most countries today, more so a country in transition like in the DR. Maintaining that mode of thinking will simply keep you confused.
Two things, and conveniently color coded to understand what responds to what:
The actual percentage is much higher than 10%, in fact around 25% to 30% of the population falls in the upper middle/upper class brackets;
That's because you need to get rid of the 'first world = best, third world = worst' mentality. In fact, people here should really stop using those terms, they are archaic.
People on DR1 (and I don't know if this is characteristic of the expat community in general or only of the most introverted types, who probably are the most likely to participate on DR1) need to stop thinking with feelings and erroneous judgments on the Dominican market. Also, need to stop the 1st world vs. 3rd world mentality, it hardly applies fully to most countries today, more so a country in transition like in the DR. Maintaining that mode of thinking will simply keep you confused.