IKEA sales increase by 5% during transformation

IKEA’s retail sales rose by 5% to €36.7 billion in the year up to August 31^st, during its biggest ever transformation.

Sales were boosted by the opening of stores in city centres, improvements to its home delivery, renewable energy and digital development.

There was a total of 839 million customer visits in the year, and nearly 2.6 billion visits to IKEA.com.  Online sales climbed by 46% over the year, mounting to around 11% of total sales.

Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka Group, said:  “We have had a really positive year. While going through one of the biggest transformations in our history, we’ve maintained strong performance across our business.

“We have a simple, yet powerful vision, to create a better everyday life for the many people, that we all want to deliver to, which is truly visible this year.”

IKEA opened seven large format stores, 11 smaller stores and a number of planning studios in cities such as Moscow, New York, Paris and London, with further plans to open in Copenhagen, Shanghai and Tokyo.