All Ikea articles
Ikea was founded in 1943 and has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008, with 460 distinctive stores in more than 60 countries. It has a successful business model focused on offering stylish flat-pack furniture at affordable prices. There is a strong emphasis on containing costs across all parts of the business. In the UK, there are 22 Ikea stores, but expansion has now shifted from its big-box format to smaller store formats – urban, pick-up and pop-up. Standard Ikea stores follow a one-way layout, leading customers counter-clockwise around the entirety of the store. Each Ikea store also features a restaurant serving traditional Swedish food.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisIkea (Strategy)
Ikea opens a pop-up store in London celebrating its iconic blue Frakta bag, situated next door to its new Oxford Street site. The “Hus of Frakta” offers bag personalisation, curated products, and reflects the retailer’s commitment to affordable, stylish design. The pop-up will be open until March 2025.
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GalleryInside Ikea’s first standalone London restaurant
Ikea has opened its first stand-alone London restaurant.
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AnalysisDrowning in data? Learn from Tesco, The Very Group and more about how to connect, harness and scale up
Retail businesses having one holistic view of all data was once seen as an unreachable holy grail. Not anymore. New technologies are enabling meaningful and scalable data strategies.
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NewsIkea, Argos and John Lewis to benefit from a furniture sales boost this quarter
Some of the UK’s biggest furniture and floorcovering retailers are set to benefit this golden quarter as the market makes a return to growth, according to GlobalData.
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Retail Navigator AnalysisIkea (Financials)
Ingka Group – the largest Ikea franchisee – saw retail sales fall 5% to €39.6bn (£33.95bn) for the year ended 31 August 2024 (FY2024). The retailer said it had focused on lowering prices for its customers “in a year marked by economic uncertainties with higher interest rates and increasing inflation as well as a declining home furnishing market.” Sales within the UK fell 6.8% to £2.3bn in FY2024 amid a year of “economic uncertainty”.
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NewsIkea’s sales have taken a hit following its move to lower prices
Ikea’s move to draw shoppers in with lower prices has taken a toll on its revenues.
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InterviewQ&A: Ingka Centres head of global development explains why all eyes are on India
We spoke to Ingka Centres head of global development Sebastian Hylving to hear what’s planned for the Lykli Noida centre and why India is such an attractive market for businesses right now.
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AnalysisSustainability strategy: Five ways retailers are minimising their environmental impact
Ahead of the return of the Sustainability Summit on October 10, we dig into the strategies of the retailers making tangible progress and glean expert opinion on why the narrative of balancing sustainability with bottom lines “needs to change”
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NewsIkea is piloting ‘next generation’ lockers in a tie-up with Tesco
Home goods and furniture giant Ikea has launched a trial of “next generation” lockers in Tesco stores.
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NewsIkea exec says AI is ‘enhancing, not replacing’ creativity in its retail operations
An Ikea executive has said that AI is “enhancing, not replacing” creativity in its retail operations, as the technology can boost the customer experience.
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NewsIkea is to trial a new resale website to meet the rise in second-hand furniture sales
Swedish furniture giant Ikea is trialling a resale website for customers looking to buy and sell second-hand Ikea products, The Financial Times has reported.
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Innovation of the WeekInnovation round-up: Hologram training, reviving the metaverse, palm payments and more
Here we bring you our summer roundup of innovations that caught our attention over the past three months.
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NewsIkea is opening 100 new click-and-collect points at Tesco stores
The Swedish home retailer plans to expand its partnership with Tesco to open 100 new click-and-collect points at the supermarket.
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AnalysisRetail cabinet: What would government look like if retailers ran the country?
As the country casts its votes in the general election, Retail Week imagines what a cabinet made up of bold and capable retail leaders might look like
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AnalysisHow Ikea, WHSmith and Decathlon are going green to win shopper spend
Sustainability has rocketed up the consumer agenda in recent years. Exclusive research from Retail Week explores the sustainability strategies that really matter to shoppers, and the retailers getting it right.
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NewsMarks & Spencer appoints Ikea exec to senior stores role
Marks & Spencer has drafted an Ikea executive as a stores director.
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Innovation of the WeekIkea pays real money to workers in metaverse store
Innovation of the Week is a subscriber-only series highlighting retail initiatives that have caught the eye of our team.
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AnalysisRetail’s election wish list: what the bosses of Ikea, AO and more want from a new government
“We need a better approach when it comes to the coordination of policy, regulation, taxation, and alignment across the UK’s nations.”
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NewsIkea Oxford Street opening pushed back for second time
Ikea has pushed back the opening of its highly anticipated Oxford Street store for a second time.
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NewsIkea owner could bring US food hall concept to UK in ‘not too distant future’
Ikea sister company Ingka Centres is considering a new food hall pilot it debuted in San Francisco in its plans for a Brighton shopping centre, Retail Week can reveal.