Ingka Group has announced IKEA retail sales of €39b for its FY ended 31st August, with an increase in quantities sold by +1.6% and the number of store and online visits going up by +1.3% (to 736 million visits) and +4.6% respectively.
The group says its key priority has been to continue keeping prices low – leading to a decrease in sales of -1.6% compared to last year (sales totalled €39.6b in FY24).
Despite economic and trade uncertainties, supply chain disturbances, rising cost of living pressures and weakened consumer confidence across many markets, the retailer says it maintained its focus on affordability and improving the customer's experience, both physically and digitally.
“In the past year we managed the challenges and led with opportunities, always guided by our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people," says Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group. "We sold more to more customers, mainly driven by lowering prices in past year. We have made a promise to always side with the many people and support with fulfilling the dreams and needs in life at home. I’m proud of how the IKEA community has navigated the last year and we see a good momentum in the current year.”
Ingka Group continued to invest in new stores and plan-and-order points, as well as digital channels. The retailer opened 54 new locations across the world, including Oxford Street in London, Delhi, and – one of its biggest investments so far – in China, with a major mixed-use location in downtown Shanghai.
In addition, the first versions of a new smaller store format are now being tested in towns across the UK, US and Poland, offering thousands of home furnishing products, food, and planning services, but designed for a quicker, simpler shopping experience, closer to where people live.
Tolga Öncü, Ingka retail manager (COO) at Ingka Group, comments: “Our city centre stores have been a success in making IKEA more accessible to the many people and we are now aiming to add another component to them. A smaller retail format that will allow us to open the doors in just a few weeks and thus expand faster with many more IKEA locations in the near future. Customers have been very positive so far and we are optimistic that this format will help us soon bring our affordable home furnishing range to many more people across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.”
The company also continued to invest substantially in revamping its existing stores to adapt them into hubs for ecommerce. For example, the Soroksar store in Budapest reopened in March with double the logistics capacities, able to handle all online deliveries across Hungary. By further enhancing its digital tools, including those for pickup and demand sensing, customer satisfaction remained at the highest level since measurements began six years ago.
“As we continue to grow, the fast-changing retail environment will require that we are constantly evolving to meet the new needs of our customers," says Jesper. "By staying curious, adaptable, and focused on building a better IKEA, we can continue to shape a business that’s not only financially strong, but also relevant for generations to come."
Ingka Group continues its work to deliver to the Paris Agreement and become net zero by reducing absolute greenhouse gas emissions from the entire value chain by at least -50% to 2030 and -90% by 2050. Since 2016, when the agreement was signed, the company has grown by +23.7% while reducing its carbon footprint from raw material to customers by -30.1% (across scopes 1, 2 and 3 from FY16-FY24). At the same time, the retailer has already invested more than €4.2b of a planned €7.5b by 2030 to accelerate the transition to a renewable future.
Inter IKEA Systems BV, which is the owner of the IKEA concept and the worldwide IKEA franchisor, has announced total IKEA retail sales of €44.5b across all 13 groups of franchisees, at which Ingka Group represents 87% of the total sales.
The group's full financial results will be issued in November.
