Annual sales slide at Ikea.


Flat pack furniture giant Inter Ikea Group posted a second consecutive decline in annual sales on Thursday, as it cut prices amid softer demand.

Ikea

Source: Sharecast

Over the last two years, the privately-owned Swedish firm said it had cut prices by 10% in a bid to make its home furnishings more affordable.

That led to a 3% increase in both sales volumes and customers in the year to 31 August.

The retailer - which was founded in 1943 and now has around 222,000 workers worldwide - also opened 66 new sales locations during the year.

Annual revenues, however, were €44.6bn, down 1% year-on-year or by 0.3% on a constant currency basis.

Jon Abrahamsson Ring, chief executive, told Reuters that cheaper prices had been the brand’s priority.

"We do that because we that people in all our 63 markets, their wallets are thinner right now and we see that consumer confidence for many years has gone down."

Looking to the current year, Abrahamsson Ring said Ikea would focus particularly on kitchen and dining products in the coming months. It also plans to enter new markets by opening in Panama and Costa Rica, as well as continuing to focus on e-commerce.

Online sales now account for around 28% of group turnover.

He concluded: "Since 2020, Ikea sales have grown faster than the overall home furnishing market, resulting in increased market share.

"During that time, we’ve worked hard to offset inflation while continuing to transform the Ikea business.

"We’re better prepared to drive growth than we have been in a very long time."

Ikea operates through franchises, with 13 different groups of companies currently having the right to own and operate Ikea sales channels.

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