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☆ Ikea revenue falls after it lowered prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Last year, Ikea slashed prices on roughly 2,000 products to give inflation-weary customers a break. Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, said that it doesn’t have any regrets about prioritizing “lowering the prices” in a $2 billion discount initiative at all of its stores globally. Like its rivals, Ikea gradually hiked prices since the peak of Covid-19 in 2020 as the costs of materials and transport rose. The company’s major discount program last year cut prices on several of its most popular items, like its Billy bookcase. Ikea sold 1.2 billion meatballs for the year, with a company spokesperson telling CNN that it also sold more meals at its cafés.

Persons: Jesper Brodin, Billy bookcase Organizations: New, New York CNN, Ikea, Ikea’s, CNN Locations: New York, Swedish

☆ Retailers Get ‘Phygital’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Some experts say phygital (“physical” + “digital”) does a better job of describing how online and brick-and-mortar shops should work together to create a seamless customer experience. That became a necessity during the pandemic, when things like QR codes, digital payment options and contactless order pickups helped ease people’s fears about contracting the virus. Plus, some say phygital captures how retailers are incorporating augmented reality and A.I. Barry Collier, an entrepreneur who helped develop Neopets, a game with virtual pets, points to Ikea’s mobile app, which allows people to virtually sample couches and curtains in their own homes before making a purchase, as an example of phygital innovation. Sephora does a similar thing with makeup.

Persons: Barry Collier

☆ Wayfair is opening its first-ever physical furniture store
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Online furniture and home furnishings seller Wayfair is set to open its first-ever namesake store next month, the company announced Thursday. It will also feature an onsite restaurant called “The Porch,” the company said, taking a page out of Ikea’s store setup. Furniture stores need to always be advertising, Saunders added, because people generally don’t buy furniture very often. This is particularly important in furniture and finishings where people like to see and try out products before buying,” Saunders said. “If this store is successful then it could be the start of wider physical expansion for Wayfair,” Saunders said.

Persons: Joss, ”, Neil Saunders, Saunders, Wayfair, it’s, Niraj Shah, Wayfair “, “ It’s, ” Saunders Organizations: New, New York CNN —, GlobalData Locations: New York, Edens, Wilmette , Illinois

☆ This Louis Vuitton ‘sandwich bag’ costs more than $3000
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Carrying lunch into the office from home can be one way to save money — except, perhaps, when it is stored in Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton sandwich bag costing over $3,000. Model Anna Ewers carried the sandwich bag during Pharrell Williams' debut show for Louis Vuitton in Paris in June 2023. But it’s not the first time that Louis Vuitton has drawn inspiration from everyday (and, traditionally, much cheaper) accessories. In its Spring-Summer 2007 collection, the fashion house paid homage to the budget-friendly checkered plastic laundry bags beloved the world over. In 2022, the brand also released a cross-body bag resembling a paint can (complete with metal handle), “decorated with playful references to Louis Vuitton’s heritage.”In 2007, Louis Vuitton paid homage to the humble laundry bag.

Persons: Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton, Williams, Anna Ewers, Louis, Giovanni Giannoni, —, it’s, Louis Vuitton’s, Francois Guillot, Virgil Abloh, ”, Marcel Duchamp —, Ashish Gupta, ” “ It’s, ” Gupta, “, Balenciaga Organizations: CNN, Louis Vuitton, West Hollywood, Getty Locations: Paris, Pont, West, AFP

☆ Home in a box: Rethinking disaster relief, IKEA style
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Marianna Cerini | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rather than sending tents, however, Indian nonprofit SEEDS partnered with Sweden’s Better Shelter to distribute over 100 of its IKEA-inspired temporary houses. Like IKEA furniture, Better Shelter’s homes come in flat packages that can be easily shipped and assembled in a matter of hours, without the need for tools or electricity. Each unit comprises a modular frame and is completed using local materials, such as bamboo or timber, before being equipped with a lockable door and solar-powered lamp. Sahiba Chawdhary/Better ShelterKarlsson began developing the concept for Better Shelter’s housing as a freelance designer in 2010, when a small aid project asked him to improve the design of its disaster relief tents. Sahiba Chawdhary/Better ShelterScalable, adaptable and localIn 2021, Better Shelter introduced its latest modular design: Structure.

Persons: CNN —, Gita Kumari Bhumik, ” Bhumik, Kumari Bhumik, Chawdhary Bhumik, It’s, ”, Johan Karlsson, “, Karlsson, you’re, we’ve, ” Karlsson, Sahiba, Geeta Bhumik, it’s Organizations: CNN, IKEA, IKEA Foundation, UN, decarbonization, UNHCR, for Economics & Peace, Better Locations: India’s, Assam, Indian, Assam's Kalain, Swedish, Ethiopia, Iran, Kenya, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Ecuador, Netherlands, Sydney

☆ Stores are leaving San Francisco. Ikea is opening this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Ikea is opening a new store in downtown San Francisco Wednesday, bucking the trend of retailers closing in the city. Ikea is opening a new store this week in downtown San Francisco at 945 Market Street. While violent crime statistics in San Francisco have remained relatively low in recent years, property crimes have risen since 2020, according to San Francisco Police Department data. Activity this spring in downtown San Francisco, as measured by mobile phone use, was 68% below its pre-pandemic levels, the largest decline of any US city. In June, shopping mall operator Westfield announced it would give up control of its San Francisco mall, citing “challenging operating conditions in downtown San Francisco, which have led to declines in sales, occupancy and foot traffic.”A month earlier, Nordstrom, one of the biggest retailers in Westfield, said it would shutter both of its San Francisco stores.

Persons: San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Nordstrom, San Organizations: New, New York CNN, Ikea, Shoppers, IKEA, San Francisco Mayor London, San Francisco Police Department, Westfield Locations: New York, San Francisco, San, San Francisco’s Union, Westfield, Francisco

☆ With home improvement projects down, it’s Ikea’s moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Over the next three years, it plans to open eight large stores and nine smaller “plan and order points,” where customers can chat with design consultants and order products. “We see endless opportunities to grow” in the US, Tolga Öncü, head of Ikea Retail for the Ingka Group, Ikea’s Dutch holding company, said in a statement at the time. After splurging on home improvement projects during the pandemic, consumers are pulling back. Home improvement retailer Lowe’s lowered its profit and sales outlook for the year in May, saying consumers were spending less on home improvement. Ikea, which is not publicly traded, reported that its retail sales rose by 6.5% in fiscal year 2022, but didn’t post quarterly results.

Persons: ”, Michael Brown, Spencer Platt, Tolga Öncü, Karl Zimmermann, “, Sucharita Kodali, Forrester, “ they’re, Zimmermann, Paul Bersebach, Marisa Ortega, splurging, Ethan Allen, ” Ortega, —, Anna Cooban, David Goldman, Nathaniel Meyersohn, Parija Kavilanz Organizations: New, New York CNN, Ikea, Ikea Retail, Ingka, Bain, MediaNews, Orange, Register Locations: New York, Aldi, Long Beach , California

☆ Ikea stores coming soon to 8 new locations in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Ikea plan and order points are aimed at customers who want to speak with a consultant on how to design their homes, as well as place orders. Tolga Öncü, head of Ikea Retail, said the company saw “endless opportunities to grow” in the United States. Ingka also said it planned to use part of its bumper investment to modernize its existing US Ikea stores to enable them to send out more parcels. Ingka Group reported sales of €5.5 billion ($6 billion) in the United States in the last financial year, which ended in August 2022. It took €5.7 billion ($6.2 billion) in sales in Germany over the same period.

☆ IKEA’s Latest Climate Target: Glue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The company expects biomaterials to become more cost competitive with fossil-based materials in the coming years. Instead, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said IKEA uses weight because it allows them to measure changes in a material, such as recycled and renewable content. It discovered around half of the material’s emissions were from the glue used to bind the wood chips and fibers together, meaning that fossil-based glue was responsible for about 5% of IKEA’s carbon footprint, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. “We are not just telling them you should reduce emissions from suppliers by 80% and go fish,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. It needs to be available also for people with thin wallets,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said.

☆ Glossier, Ugg, Le Creuset: Product releases this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Krystin Arneson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

There are a ton of great products that drop every week — and we’re here, as always, to keep you up to date on the best of them. This week brings the launch of Otherland’s ’90s-inspired candle collections, Ikea’s stunning collab with Sabine Marcelis and Le Creuset’s new matte navy cookware. Shop our favorite new releases below, but be fast — they’re prone to selling out. The $90 device comes in black, white, brushed steel and brass, so it’s also easy to match to your kitchen fixtures. Loungewear-meets-streetwear from the expertsUggIf anyone knows a thing or two about creating comfortable things to wear, it’s Ugg.

☆ IKEA suppliers allegedly used Belarus prisoners under forced labor conditions, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mia Alberti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —IKEA furniture was allegedly produced by prisoners in Belarus penal colonies under forced labor conditions, according to a new report by the French non-profit investigative journalism network Disclose. “These are forced labor camps that are particularly brutal, known for practicing torture as well as food and healthcare deprivation, the exact opposite of the values flaunted by the Swedish firm,” Disclose said in its report. Disclose says other IKEA suppliers resorted to forced labor from prisoners in Belarus’ IK-15 penal colony and IK-2 juvenile prison. IKEA takes the report “very seriously and never accept[s] human rights violations” in its supply chain, the company told CNN in an emailed statement. We always strive to live up to our values and the expectations of those in our supply chain,” IKEA said.

☆ IKEA Profit Halves Amid Rampant Cost Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

IKEA’s sales rose last year in value terms but declined by volume. IKEA reported a sharp fall in annual profit as ballooning costs offset record sales, and said it expected shoppers to rein in spending in the coming months. Inter IKEA Holding BV on Thursday said net profit fell by half to 710 million euros, equivalent to $701 million, in the year to the end of August, down from €1.43 billion in the previous 12 months, as the surging cost of raw materials and transportation ate into margins.

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