Gesamtkaufwerk

Möbel Kraft


Gesamt•kauf•werk: total shopping experience

I introduced this term in a previous entry to describe the encompassing experience of shopping at an IKEA store, and could also apply to other chain stores like Wal-mart for the variety and quantity of products they sell. This word is derived from a German phrase, 'Gesamtkunstwerk', used to describe the production of a 20th century artists whose work crosses many boundaries, art, architecture, music, film.

However I never thought I would find another store that would challenge IKEA's defining position but yesterday I found a candidate. Möbel Kraft, is a furniture store that translates to an English phrase that roughly means the 'power of furniture'. Möbel Kraft competes mostly in the dimensions of Scale. It's Templehof location is a four-stories tall outlet with a mezzanine that surrounds a void the size of a football field and whose halls extend well beyond. It is BIG, but its product line is not nearly as integrated and addictive as IKEA's.