Retail shopping can be a man’s worst nightmare, and an IKEA store in Australia has cleverly addressed this problem through an interesting marketing strategy – creating a daycare for men.  The space has sports playing non-stop on flat-screen TVs, pinball machine and foosball table, and basically offers a hangout place for men to enjoy hotdogs and mingle with each other while their significant others can spend their time freely choosing furniture.  The men will then be picked up by their wives and girlfriends as the buzzer sounds after 30 minutes.  In this article by The Week, sales associates believe this idea will be a great success, but reactions appear to be mixed from various magazines.  Supporters believe this will relieve men from the tortuous experience of going through the labyrinth in an IKEA store, while opponents think this will only reinforce the twisted conception that only women “can do stuff like laundry” and may “set gender equality back by three decades”.  The attached news video showed that men seemed to support the idea, and from a marketing standpoint, I believe this will be a successful strategy if implemented in other IKEA stores as well.  I understand the ethical implications voiced, but I believe they are exaggerated and will ultimately not hinder the strategy because it actually serves the needs of the customers.  Ideally, both men and women would enjoy shopping at an IKEA store together, but the reality is that many men do not enjoy the experience, and by providing a space for them to willingly and happily “wait” for their partners, IKEA sets itself apart from other furniture stores. More importantly, I admire the fact that IKEA is already a powerhouse in this industry but still continues to create and implement creative marketing strategies to further its competitive edge.  This desire to pioneer marketing strategies before losing the competitive edge is crucial in today’s market, where needs and wants are greatly dynamic and competition is fierce in many industries.