Company executives say they aim to tap into the booming middle classes in countries such as China and Indonesia that are clamoring for the same affordable butstylish furniture that made IKEA a hit in Europe after World War II.
Both French companies are following in the footsteps of Fiat, which sells one in five of its cars in Brazil, where it first launched the Palio, a rugged butstylish small car that will soon be produced in India and North Africa too.