Ingka Group, which owns the majority of the world’s IKEA stores, states in a press release that it has decided to invest the equivalent of 31.5 billion kronor (3 billion euros) in new and existing stores. This is in addition to the just over 20 billion that has been invested over the past three years. The aim is to better address the rise of e-commerce and new consumer buying patterns, and to create more efficient logistics and delivery. Traditional department stores will increasingly function as automated warehouses from which online orders can be shipped quickly and cost-effectively.
Shipping online purchases from IKEA stores located outside the city will result in faster and cheaper deliveries, with lower emissions, than shipping from a few central warehouses. As online shopping continues to grow rapidly, physical IKEA stores remain an important part of the retailer’s business model—since last September, 16 new IKEA contact points, both large and small, have already opened, and more are planned.
– More than ever before, we want to optimize our network of stores to provide an inspiring shopping experience—no matter how or where our customers choose to interact with us. “With this investment, we aim to ensure the long-term profitability of our business by making IKEA more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable,” says Tolga Öncü, Retail Operations Manager, Ingka Group.
The investments will focus on new brick-and-mortar stores as well as on developing existing ones to further support the growing demand for home deliveries. The IKEA store in Kuopio, Finland, was recently renovated to also fulfill customers’ online orders, enabling customers across the country to receive their orders in half the time and with a 40 % reduction in delivery costs for in-store pickup.
– Our stores remain one of our greatest strengths, and we will continue to transform them to meet the needs of our customers for generations to come. “We see that many of our stores play a dual role, offering our customers the best of both brick-and-mortar and online shopping, and this investment will not only support an inspiring IKEA in-store experience but also faster and more affordable delivery of online orders directly from our stores,” says Öncü.
The first city stores in Stockholm and Toronto are said to soon have 2,000 products available for immediate pickup and larger furniture items available for home delivery.
”Even in our more mature markets, such as Germany or Spain, we will continue to invest because we still see good potential to expand our business and help even more people create a better everyday life. “Regardless of the size of the physical store, customers can always expect to find the same home furnishing expertise and inspiration they love about IKEA,” says Öncü.
Over the past three fiscal years (FY19–21), Ingka Group has invested more than 2.1 billion euros in existing and new stores across its 32 markets.
