Exclusive: Ikea raises prices by up to 80% as manufacturing costs bite

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Ikea has hiked furniture prices by up to 80% since last year, an investigation by Retail Week has found.

Research by Retail Week found Ikea has raised prices on products such as the Jokkmokk dining table and chairs, which increased by 80% to £179 from £99 last year.

The budget homeware giant blamed “surging raw material and transport costs” for the spike in prices, which comes as it posts a record 6.5% increase in retail sales, or 3.5% when measured for local currencies, to €44.6bn (£38.9bn) for the 52 weeks ending August 31, 2022.

The budget furniture retailer faced customer complaints in December last year after a round of steep price rises, which it blamed on supply pressures due to Covid-19, and confirmed that another round of sharp price rises of up to 30% had taken place within the last few months.

A Glostad two-seater sofa was £90 and is now £150, an increase of over 60%, while a Brimnes chest of drawers increased 47%, from £85 to £125.

A Vatneström super king mattress increased by 32% from £650 to £859, while bed frames Fyresdal and Slattum both spiked by 46% to £219 and £189 respectively, according to archived versions of Ikea’s website.

Product	Price 2021 (£)	Price summer 2022 (£)	Price October 2022 (£)	2022 price increase (%)	Total price increase (%)
Dining
Jokkmokk table and four chairs, antique stain	99	149	179	20%	80%
Tommaryd/Teodores table and four chairs, oak white/white, 130x70cm	208	269	289	7%	38%
Melltorp/Adde table and four chairs, white, 125cm	79	79	97	22%	22%
Drawers
Malm chest of six drawers, white/mirror glass, 40x123cm	99	99	129	30%	30%
Hauga sideboard, white, 140x84cm	150	165	199	20%	32%
Brimnes chest of four drawers, white/frosted glass, 78x124cm	85	95	125	31%	47%
Beds
Fyresdal day-bed frame, black, 80x200cm	150	199	219	10%	46%
Slattum upholstered bed frame, Knisa light grey, Standard Double	129	179	189	5%	46%
Nordli bed frame with storage and headboard, white, 160x200cm	449	578	619	7%	37%
Sofas
Landskrona three-seat sofa, Gunnared dark grey/wood	479	499	599	20%	25%
Ektorp three-seat sofa, Hallarp grey	350	450	499	10%	40%
Glostad two-seat sofa, Knisa dark grey	90	129	150	16%	66%
Mattresses
Vatneström standard super king	650	799	859	7%	32%

An Ikea spokesperson told Retail Week: “We offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible are able to afford them. This remains our focus today and in the future.

”However, we are not immune to the macro-economic developments that businesses, retailers and the public are currently facing, from the increased cost of materials and transportation to the war in Ukraine and inflation. It is critical that we are financially resilient for the long term, to ensure our longevity as a business and employer, and we have had to adjust our prices to reflect this increased cost base.

“Our approach during this period has sought to protect the prices of our most-loved and lowest-priced products and families.”

Ikea said prices continue to be a “key cornerstone” of the business and it intended to keep them as low as it can and reduce them when possible.

The retailer also said it had recently implemented new offers to support shoppers during the cost-of-living crisis on its Ikea Family loyalty scheme.

In its annual results, the retailer said that, although sales had grown in the financial year 2022, volumes had not kept up and supply chain shortages had caused availability issues.

Inter Ikea Group chief executive Jon Abrahamsson Ring said: “Ikea prices remained relatively stable for several years. That gave us an advantage when competitors raised prices early in the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, we can’t ignore surging raw material and transport costs. Long term, we remain committed to affordability for the many people around the world.”