Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Sales at Ikea UK rose 3.1% to £1.268 billion in the year to August 31, while its market share grew by 0.2% to 6.4% in a year when the Swedish furniture giant celebrated its 25th birthday.
Ikea UK retail manager Gillian Drakeford said: “We have worked hard to put a renewed focus on the customer over the past year: understanding how they live, their needs, dreams and wants in the home, as well as learning about how they want to shop with us, in order to offer them the best value for money home furnishings.
“With the continued uncertainty around the recovery from the recession, we have continued to invest across our online and in-store shopping channels to create a simpler, more convenient and enjoyable experience and it’s very humbling that our efforts have resulted in another year of growth.”
A high level of growth was achieved through online sales, with an increase of 29% compared to financial year 2012. This was achieved after Ikea increased the number of products available to buy online to 7,500 (80% of the total range) as well as making the service available to the majority of Scotland.
Purchasing through the mobile Ikea website was also offered towards the end of the year, along with the launch of free wi-fi in all stores.
A total of £4million was invested in rebuild all living room and children’s departments, resulting in sales in both areas rising by 6%. But the biggest success was seen in the outdoor furniture category, which was up 58%, as Ikea offered the range during the whole year – a move away from only selling during the spring and summer, as well as launching the first integrated marketing campaign dedicated to the category.
Looking forward, Gillian Drakeford said: “The medium-term picture for the home furnishing market looks bright and I believe this, coupled with our investments to improve the shopping experience, gives us the opportunity to double our turnover and total market share by 2020.
“Over the coming year we will be invest £8million in improving the kitchen business, including rebuilding all showrooms, staff training, improving our delivery and installation services as well as offering a completely redesigned kitchen system. We will also continue to develop our multi-channel offer as we look to give customers a seamless journey from online to in-store.”
Ikea UK operates 18 stores and Ikea Ireland has 1 store. The retailer offers a range of 9,500 different home furnishing products.
