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☆ Ikea warns Trump’s tariffs could push up prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-27 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“We have never experienced a period of benefit when we had high tariffs,” he said, referring both to Ikea and the global economy. We will need to understand and adapt.”On Monday, President-elect Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China. The bulk of Ikea’s goods — some 70% — are produced in Europe, with the remaining 30% made in Asia, mostly China. Last year, Ikea cut prices on roughly 2,000 products — at a cost of more than €2 billion ($2.1 billion) — to give inflation-weary consumers a break. Ikea's Frakta bag displayed in Munich during a celebration of the brand's 50th anniversary in Germany on October 17, 2024.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, ” Jesper Brodin, ”, Trump, Claudia Sheinbaum, Tom Madrecki, General Mills, Molson, Ikea’s Brodin, Hus, Johannes Simon Organizations: London CNN, Ingka, CNN, Ikea, Consumer Brands Association, Molson Coors, Oxford Locations: Mexico, Canada, China, United States, Europe, Asia, Munich, Germany, Wembley, Croydon, London

☆ Ikea group CEO tells BI shoppers are trading down to save money
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

And while the past year has been challenging, this strategy is paying off, according to Jasper Brodin, CEO of Ikea's parent company, Ingka Group. "People have the same needs, but they have much less money in their wallet," he added. AdvertisementHowever, Ikea has benefited from investing in low prices because it has attracted more shoppers away from pricier rivals. AdvertisementBecause of this, he said that Ikea customers are largely engaging in needs-based shopping, picking up the necessities first, like a new bed or kitchen table, instead of non-essential items. "There is a large stimulus package coming from the government right now, which is helping, but people have been holding on to their money," Brodin said.

Persons: Jasper Brodin, — Brodin, —, Nora Redmond, lockdowns, Brodin Organizations: Ikea, Ingka, Oxford, Starbucks Locations: London, China

☆ 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

☆ Ikea's fleet of 250 autonomous drones takes stock of warehouse inventory without any human intervention
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( John Kell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Three years ago, a drone took flight at an Ikea warehouse in Switzerland for the first time. They're more self-sufficient, too: For every 10 minutes that a Verity drone is in flight, it charges for 20 minutes. Ikea's investments in Verity's drone technology fit into its broader strategy to explore and test newer supply-chain technologies. Jönsson added that deploying drones has allowed employees to have more time for analyzing inventory data. Before using warehouse drones, workers would check thousands of pallets repeatedly in order to manage inventory.

Persons: Verity, —, Raffaello D'Andrea, — there's, Uber, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Domino's, there's, DroneUp, D'Andrea, Verity hasn't, it's, Moller, Erik Jönsson, they're, haven't, Jönsson Organizations: Ikea, Chain Management, Service, Amazon, Walmart, Companies, McKinsey & Company, McKinsey, Ikea's, Ingka, Maersk, Samsung Group, Ingka Investments, Nvidia, Federal Aviation Administration, Investors, Kiva Systems, Amazon Robotics, Qualcomm Ventures, A.P, Moller Holding, Exor Ventures Locations: Switzerland, Swiss, Dutch, —, Zealand, Arizona , Florida, Utah, Dallas

☆ Retailers jacked up prices and squeezed consumers. They might have just blinked
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“There’s just less dollars for consumers to spend.”The challenge for retailers now is to shake consumers out of that frugal mindset. Retail spending has increased in seven of the past 10 months through March. “If you want to convince consumers to spend you have to give them a reason to do so. Lower prices are a clear opportunity to drive people into the store or online.”It’s a lever that Walmart, he said, has pulled forever. Clothing chain H&M told analysts during its most recent earnings call that it, too, would lower prices.

Persons: Sarah Wyeth, ”, Chad Lusk, Alvarez, ” Wyeth, “ There’s, they’re, Zak Stambor, Stambor, Joe Raedle, ” Stambor, “, ” Jesper Brodin, ” Brodin, ” Michaels, ” Ashley Buchanan, Michaels, Lars Daniel Ervér, Frida, Chuck, – CNN’s Bryan Mena Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Ikea, Shoppers, “ Retailers, CNN, Walmart, Ingka, “, Cheese, Stambor Locations: New York, Hallandale Beach , Florida

☆ IKEA cuts prices as inflationary pressures ease, says Ingka Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIkea's parent company on price cuts: It's time to 'invest in pricing rather than profitability'Tolga Oncu, head of retail at Ingka Group, discusses its decision to cut prices in all the markets where it operates in light of easing inflation, saying it's taking a staggered approach.

Persons: it's Organizations: Ingka Group

☆ Ikea is betting you'll come to its coworking space in a mall, then shop at one of its stores
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ingka Group, which runs most Ikea stores, is leading the charge. One mall that Ingka recently acquired in the English city of Brighton included an Apple store and a Zara store. It added an Ikea store in the mall where a now-closed department store used to stand. The Ikea stores in these malls are often smaller than one of the brand's typical warehouses, which tend to be located in their own buildings on the outskirts of cities. In the US, Ikea has also opened some showroom-style stores built around complete setups for bedrooms, kitchens, and other rooms.

Persons: —, Hej, Cindy Andersen, Ingka's Anderson, Ikea's Organizations: Wall Street, Service, Ikea, Ingka, Apple, Business Locations: Swedish, Malls, California, San Francisco, English, Brighton, Zara, London

☆ Top CEOs fear that volatile supply chains are now just the new normal
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kristian Helgesen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDAVOS, Switzerland — Top CEOs are closely following tensions in the Red Sea, warning that this kind of volatility for supply chains is likely here to stay. Houthi rebels from Yemen have attacked commercial vessels traveling in the Red Sea since November. Supply chains were massively disrupted during the pandemic and the subsequent bounce back, given the restrictions and the closure of borders. Tobias Meyer, the CEO of DHL, shared concerns over the new normal for supply chains. "We have an issue in the Panama Canal, we have an issue in the Red Sea.

Persons: Ebba, A.P ., Kristian Helgesen, Jesper Brodin, Brodin, Tobias Meyer Organizations: A.P, A.P . Moeller, Maersk, Bloomberg, Getty, Ingka, CNBC, Economic, IKEA, DHL Locations: Suez, Egypt, DAVOS, Switzerland, Red, Yemen, Iran, Gaza, United States, Hope, Africa, Asia, Europe, Davos, Panama

☆ Ikea says it's going to cut prices this year, and the company's comments on deflation should be setting competitors on edge
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewCompanies across the board have been hiking prices massively in the last few years, citing relentless supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and Russia's war in Ukraine. Speaking to Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Broden acknowledged "quite significant deflation" upstream in its supply chain. AdvertisementIkea also has enough inventory to offset price hikes from any supply chain shocks, Brodin told the news agency. To be sure, Ikea hiked prices in 2022, citing supply chain bottlenecks and higher raw material costs, but the furniture giant started cutting price late last year, citing easing price pressures. US grocery giant Walmart signaled deflation in November as well — but that was before the Red Sea Houthi attacks dragged into the new year.

Persons: —, Jesper Brodin, Broden, Brodin, It's Organizations: Service, Business, Ingka, Ikea, Reuters, Red, Economic, Energy Locations: Ukraine, Davos, Switzerland, London, Russia

☆ IKEA sticks with China despite slowing economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Helen Reid | Thomson Reuters | London-Based Reporter Covering The European Retail Sector Through A Global Lens. Focusing On Companies Including Adidas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yves Herman Acquire Licensing RightsMALMÖ, Sweden, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China is still a key growth market for budget furniture retailer IKEA despite the world's second-largest economy showing signs of strain, executives at the biggest IKEA store owner said on Thursday. The company has 37 IKEA stores in China, out of a total of 537 locations worldwide. Ingka Group overall saw 697 million visits to its IKEA stores in the 2023 financial year, up 7.4% from the previous year. The rate of increase was much higher in China, Brodin said, as stores reopened and shoppers returned. China's sheer size makes it a key opportunity, said Tolga Oncu, head of IKEA Retail at Ingka Group.

Persons: Yves Herman Acquire, Jesper Brodin, Brodin, Ingka, Tolga Oncu, Oncu, Helen Reid, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, IKEA, Ingka Group, Ingka, Reuters, IKEA Retail, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Sweden, China

☆ IKEA stores owner Ingka plans recycling expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ingka Investments' Peter van der Poel told a panel at the Reuters IMPACT conference in London that a recycling initiative in the Netherlands would be expanded to markets including France, Belgium and Scandinavia. "The thing here is to understand in many markets in Europe, still incineration is incentivised (over) recycling. Ingka Investments is the investment arm of Ingka Group, which owns and operates the majority of IKEA stores. Investing in what it calls the circular economy, which includes recycling, is part of Ingka's sustainable investment portfolio, alongside renewable energy and forests. Van der Poel says this is viable because Ingka has an investment horizon of "generations", out to 100 years.

Persons: Anna Ringstrom, Peter van der Poel, Van der Poel, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Emma Rumney, Simon Jessop, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Ingka, Ingka Investments, Reuters IMPACT, Investments, IKEA, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Europe, London, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Scandinavia, North America

☆ 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 bets on remote interior design as AI changes sales strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Helen Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - IKEA is training call centre workers to become interior design advisers as the Swedish furniture giant aims to offer more home improvement services and hand run-of-the-mill customer queries to an artificial intelligence bot called Billie. In April, IKEA expanded its interior design services to the UK and United States, after previous launches in parts of Europe, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. In the UK, customers pay 25 pounds ($31.44) for a 45-60 minute interior design advice video call and suggested product list, and can pay 125 pounds for three workspace design consultations, a floorplan and 3D visuals. Sales by phone or video of products and services through Ingka's remote interior design channel accounted for 1.3 billion euros ($1.40 billion) of revenue in Ingka's 2022 financial year - 3.3% of the total. These virtual services require significant investment, she said, to ensure items' colours, textures and sizes are accurately reflected and to minimise returns.

Persons: Billie, IKEA's Billy bookcase, We're, Ulrika Biesert, Biesert, Wayfair, It's, Jocelyn Paulley, Helen Reid, Susan Fenton Organizations: IKEA, United Arab, Ingka Group, Reuters, Ingka, Gowling, Thomson Locations: Swedish, United States, Europe, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Ingka, headcount, London

STOCKHOLM, June 1 (Reuters) - IKEA stores owner Ingka group has announced the official start of work on its delayed first store in New Zealand, which it predicts will be followed by other outlets as the Asia-Pacific region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and macro-economic shocks. Head of Retail at Ingka group Tolga Oncu told Reuters preliminary opening dates were often subject to change. Asked about possible stores in other parts of New Zealand, Oncu said he did not expect the one in Auckland to be enough. "So one can expect that IKEA in the long term is going to continue to look for opportunities to expand in New Zealand," he said. Globally, there are more than 450 IKEA stores, most of which are owned by the Ingka group.

Persons: Oncu, Ingka, Marie, Lucy Craymer, Barbara Lewis Organizations: IKEA, Reuters, Marie Mannes, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, New Zealand, Asia, Pacific, Auckland , New, Auckland, Europe, Australia, Stockholm, Wellington

☆ Ikea is redefining its customer experience — starting with raves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marcus Engman, Ikea's creative director, said the raves signal Ikea's strategy to attract customers. Two spectacular raves — one of which got shut down by the police, an Ikea spokesperson told Fast Company. As for Ikea, Engman said there are creative ways to maximize Ikea's space to improve its bottom line. "There are techniques that we use in entertainment that are not used at all in retail," Engman told Fast Company. Engman told Fast Company that Ikea's growth efforts — including raves — may be a way to expand its brand.

☆ IKEA plans new U.S. stores in $2.2 bln push to challenge Walmart and Wayfair
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Helen Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The company's logo is seen outside of an IKEA Group store in Saint-Herblain near Nantes, France, March 22, 2021. Ingka plans to open eight new big IKEA stores and nine smaller stores as well as upgrading existing stores in the U.S., which is IKEA's second-biggest market by sales after Germany, the company said on Thursday. As consumers spend less, big-box retailers Walmart and online furniture retailer Wayfair are cutting jobs and shutting stores, creating an opportunity for IKEA to pick up cheaper store and warehouse space. The planned stores would increase the number of IKEA locations in the U.S. by around a third, from 51 stores and two "plan and order points". Ingka Group had revenues of 5.5 billion euros ($6.03 billion) in the U.S. in its 2022 financial year.

☆ 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 has a target to be climate positive - reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than its value chain emits - by 2030. Inter IKEA acts as franchisor to IKEA store owners and is in charge of supply. Abrahamsson Ring said earlier that retail sales volumes did not increase in fiscal year 2022 as IKEA struggled to meet demand due to supply shortages. Ingka Group, which owns most IKEA stores worldwide, reduced its own emissions by 23% to 455,014 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The store owner's emission reduction was also achieved by using more renewable energy.

"We have managed to replace those (Russia and Belarus) volumes in other countries on a very hot wood market," Ulf Johansson, Global Wood Supply and Forestry Manager at brand owner Inter IKEA, told Reuters. Russia and Belarus were IKEA's fifth and sixth biggest wood suppliers before the war, accounting for 6% and 5% respectively of its supplies, the company's website said. Poland, followed by Lithuania and Sweden were the three biggest suppliers in the 12 months through August 2022. IKEA stores in Russia have been closed since March, while IKEA owned shopping malls remain open. IKEA has in recent years been buying and managing forests in a number of countries through its investment vehicle IKEA Investments, from which it might use wood and wood products in the future.

☆ Exclusive: Green logistics company GoBolt raises $55 million to build out a fleet of electric trucks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GoBolt raised a $55 million in funding, bringing its total capital raised to $162 million CAD. The company achieved a higher valuation compared to its Series B, despite the market "bloodbath". GoBolt seeks to build out its fleet of electric trucks and one day be "carbon negative". The 3rd party logistics company Second Closet hired had just called to say they weren't going to make it. The company raised the funds in Canadian dollars but the amounts have been converted to US dollars for this article.

[1/4] Tolga Oncu, head of retail at Ingka group which owns most IKEA stores worldwide, poses for a photograph after his interview with Reuters inside an IKEA store in Mumbai, India, November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Abhirup RoyMUMBAI, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA furniture stores, is planning additional price cuts as some input costs ease, its retail manager told Reuters on Monday, a reversal from price hikes introduced last year to counter soaring inflation. The moderation of some input costs, such as metal and sea transport, will allow the company to continue the reductions, Oncu said. Opportunities for efficiencies in operations will continue to help IKEA deliver profits while lower prices should attract new cost-conscious customers, he added. Brand owner Inter IKEA, which is in charge of supply, said this month input prices had begun to stabilise, and that promotional campaigns and lower prices on some popular products would be key to attracting cash-strapped shoppers.

☆ IKEA stores owner Ingka's annual operating profit rises 9%
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Anna Ringstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The world's biggest furniture retailer said operating profit in the 12 months through August was 2.04 billion euros ($2.12 billion), on sales growth of 6%. Maeztu also said the operating profit reflected good performance across divisions, which also include shopping malls and an investment arm. Ingka attributed this to higher interest rates, which hit one of Ingka Investments' investment portfolios. Ingka Investments has 20 billion euros worth of financial assets under management, according to its website. Inter IKEA in October said its operating profit fell 56% as it passed on some of its soaring raw material and transport costs to retailers.

☆ IKEA offers cash, larger discounts to help staff weather soaring living costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - IKEA retailer Ingka Group is launching a 10 million euro ($10 million) social fund and bigger staff discounts to support employees struggling to cope with higher living costs. A group spokesperson said the fund would be available in all Ingka's 31 markets, and the money would not be a loan. "We want to be able to support co-workers through this time, while balancing the needs of our business, always guided by our values." The Ingka spokesperson said it was difficult to say at this point how many would seek help from the fund. "This extra support is meant to support co-workers faced with unforeseen costs they couldn’t possibly have planned for."

☆ IKEA lets around 10,000 staff go in Russia -AFP
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Oct 13 (Reuters) - IKEA has now let go around 10,000 employees in Russia as it makes its exit from the country, the French news agency AFP quoted the company as saying on Thursday, as the Swedish furniture giant reported record annual sales. IKEA, the world's biggest furniture brand, shut down its Russian stores in March and said it would sell factories, close offices and reduce its 15,000-strong workforce in Russia. The company had said it would continue to pay staff until the end of August. Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka group, owner of IKEA's stores, told AFP that it had had to lay off around 10,000 of its 12,000 retail employees in Russia. Brodin said Ingka had not yet decided whether to sell the IKEA stores in Russia.

☆ IKEA reports record sales as price hikes offset weakening consumer confidence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Anna Ringstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

STOCKHOLM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Budget furniture giant IKEA reported record high annual sales on Thursday as price hikes and easing effects from the pandemic made up for supply shortages, weakening consumer confidence and its exit from Russia. "Inflation and supply chain issues impacted FY22 sales, and led to rising costs and higher prices. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"In addition, supply chain shortages made it difficult to keep IKEA shelves full," it said. Inter IKEA in June put its factories in the country up for sale, and IKEA stores remain closed, but Ingka's shopping malls remain open. Brodin said on Thursday Ingka had not yet decided whether to sell the IKEA stores.

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