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Tag: Furniture

  • Ikea opens stand-alone planning studio in Singapore

    Ikea opens stand-alone planning studio in Singapore

    IKEA has launched the first-of-its-kind planning studio powered by Singapore-based interior design and renovation platform, Livspace. IKEA and Livspace have provided consultation to hundreds of homeowners in Singapore since the partnership started at the end of 2019. The new studio at Jurong Point shopping mall will offer customers a brand-new shopping experience with end-to-end personalized home interior design, planning, and renovation services.

    At around 100 square meters, the Planning studio will feature a specialist showroom modeled after a 3-room HDB flat and virtual inspirations through SmartPhotos by the Livspace Platform. Designed like an IKEA showroom, the studio has been specially optimized and curated to address the challenges of living in a small space. These range from space-saving kitchens to living room smart storage solutions and fitted wardrobes. Décor and furnishings will be refreshed periodically throughout the year so customers can receive new inspirations to start transforming their own homes.

    The Livspace SmartPhotos is a great visualization and planning tool to help homeowners envision and budget for their new home designs. It is also the first time the SmartPhoto experience is being introduced to Singapore. Customers will be able to scan any room in the store using QR codes and virtually change the products and room style to suit their preferences and budget. As the products are being updated in SmartPhotos, the room price will also be updated in real-time. This new tool will be integrated into the planning and renovation journey offered to customers, and they can get to experience it in the coming weeks.

    “We would like to help more Singaporeans realize their dream homes,” said Jaap Doornbos, IKEA Retail Director, Singapore & Philippines. “The new IKEA Planning Studio isn’t just another IKEA store – it’s the future of home planning that caters to every homeowner and wallet size. Together with Livspace, we hope to provide a more accessible and personalized experience with technology, which will allow customers to achieve their dream home. With the current economic situation, this is especially important, and we see this as a big step in improving the traditional interior design planning process in Singapore”.

    “We are delighted to partner with a world-class brand in IKEA and power its first Planning Studio in Singapore with the Livspace platform. As a technology-first company, we are looking to revolutionize the way interior design and renovations are done in Singapore and this launch is a crucial first step. Now, personalized and trusted interior design services across price points will be available at consumers’ fingertips,” said Ravindran Shanmugam, Country Head, Livspace (Singapore). The IKEA Planning Studio will offer move-in ready packages, starting from just $9,900, that provide renovation and construction services as well as IKEA furniture and furnishings. Customers can make a complimentary one-to-one virtual or in-person appointments with expert designers.

    Any furniture purchases made at the Planning Studio as part of the Interior Design and Renovation package will also be delivered to homes for added convenience.

    From 13 to 26 January, customers can also take advantage of opening specials*:

    • First 500 walk-in customers will get a complimentary IKEA Jurong Point Planning Studio goodie bag

    • Spin the sure-win spin-the-wheel for prizes, when they spend above $10,000 on the renovation with Livspace On top of which, IKEA Family members gets 5% off their total bill when renovating their home with Livspace. This offer lasts till 31 December 2021 and can be redeemed at the outlet by presenting a physical or digital IKEA Family card.

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  • Ikea sunsetting catalogue after 70 years

    Ikea sunsetting catalogue after 70 years

    After almost 70 years, Swedish furniture giant Ikea is scrapping its iconic catalog.

    The company will no longer produce print and digital versions of the book, it announced Monday.

    It’s been touted as the most widely-distributed publication in the world, and more copies of the catalog are printed each year than the Bible or Quran.

    Ikea’s decision to scrap the catalog didn’t come lightly. The company collected extensive customer feedback, it said, and decided to focus on its online store instead.

    Ikea has seen a significant shift in consumer behavior thanks to the digital boom. In 2019, its online retail sales grew 45% worldwide.

    Fewer people are using the catalog because of changing media consumption, it added.

    The company will release a book of home furnishing inspiration “as tribute” in fall 2021.

    “For 70 years it has been one of our most unique and iconic products, which has inspired billions of people across the world,” Konrad Grüss, managing director of the chain’s global franchisor Inter IKEA Systems, said.

    Ikea described the decision as “emotional but rational.”

    Perhaps surprisingly, Ikea didn’t didn’t explicitly cite its environmental credentials as a reason for the decision.

    The company has increasingly focused on sustainability as it works towards its goal of becoming carbon positive by 2030, and in November it started buying back and reselling UK customers’ used furniture to counter the mass consumption associated with Black Friday.

    This is the second time Ikea’s catalog has hit the headlines this fall.

    In October, Ikea reissued some editions of its 2021 catalog because it included an image that it admitted could reinforce racist stereotypes

    The first 68-page Ikea catalog was released in 1951 by the furniture chain’s founder Ingvar Kamprad, eight years after the company launched.

    Its print run of 285,000 copies was distributed across southern Sweden

    Fast-forward to 2016, and the catalog reached its highest print run. Around 200 million copies were distributed in 69 different versions, 32 languages, and more than 50 markets. Since 2000, Ikea has launched a full digital version of the catalog, too.

    The catalog as we now know it is a massive affair for Ikea, taking around nine months to design each year. It shoots the images in its own studios in Älmhult, Sweden, which is one of the biggest photo studios in Europe.

    The Ikea Museum, which is located in the same city, includes an exhibition on the catalog’s history.

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  • Ikea in talks to buy city-centre retail property in big European cities

    Ikea in talks to buy city-centre retail property in big European cities

    IKEA’s Ingka Investments is in talks to buy commercial property in prime locations in several big European cities after it finalised its first-ever such acquisition last month, its managing director said.

    The investment arm of Ingka Group, which owns most IKEA stores, is pushing into the real estate market as part of IKEA’s shift towards big city-centres from out-of-town. So far, such locations are leased.

    Scouting for city-centre retail property more or less ready to house IKEA stores across Europe’s main cities, Ingka Investments’ first deal was in Paris’ Rue de Rivoli.

    “We have ongoing discussions in big European cities,” Ingka Investments Managing Director Krister Mattsson said in an interview. “It takes time to buy properties, but there is a lot in the pipeline,” he told Reuters.

    Inkga Investments is pushing ahead with the new strategy despite the wider retail market uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

    Despite the exodus from high streets prompted by the coronavirus, price tags for the kind of properties that Ingka Investments is hunting for have not tumbled, Mattsson said.

    “For good locations in big cities, which is what we are looking at to meet our customers, there is always demand,” he said. “We haven’t seen any big impact yet on prices for such properties – which one may have expected when the crisis came.”

    Besides good space for the IKEA store, buildings could also include other retail, office and even residential space, and Ingka Group would take over as landlord.

    The decision to build up a real estate portfolio stems from privately held IKEA’s long-standing strategy not to rent. Acquisitions, as IKEA’s other investments, are self financed.

    Separately, Ingka Group’s malls arm Ingka Centres is also shopping for inner-city property, albeit targeting bigger developments aimed at housing IKEA-store anchored malls. Scouting Europe, Asia and the United States, it has so far made two such acquisitions.

    Ingka Investments’ portfolios also include renewable energy and forests.

    Starting in 2017 with the purchase of handyman services platform TaskRabbit, Ingka Investments also buys into startups that may help IKEA speed up its digital transformation, improve its services, and become more sustainable. The latest addition is a stake in logistics solutions and delivery platform Mover Systems.

    Ingka Investments has to date made 23 such minority stake investments totalling more than 200 million euros ($238 million), it said. It has not disclosed the price tag for TaskRabbit and two more full acquisitions.

    Ingka Group is a franchisee to brand owner Inter IKEA.

  • Ikea starts opening second-hand stores

    Ikea starts opening second-hand stores

    Ikea is to open its second second-hand furniture store in its home country, Sweden, expanding its commitment to the circular economy concept.

    The store, located in the ReTuna shopping mall in Eskilstuna, will stock used Ikea furniture bought back from customers, repaired and refurbished, giving old Ikea furniture a second life instead of ending up at recycling stations or in a landfill.

    The new outlet is scheduled to launch later this year, with the launch billed as part of Ikea’s strategy to become a fully circular business by 2030.

    “By testing new ideas, we take another step towards our goal of becoming completely circular and making it easier for more people to live a life within the planet’s boundaries,” the company said in a statement. “Our second-hand service is one of several examples of our sustainability work.”

    The second-hand concept was piloted in the UK last year together with a textile recycling scheme. In Sweden, the former is now available in all stores except one in Stockholm.

    Last year, the home furnishing giant launched a subscription program in some regions, allowing customers to rent home furniture.

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  • Ikea Hong Kong launches mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival

    Ikea Hong Kong launches mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival

    Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has yet again stepped out of its aisle, expanding its food range with localized mooncakes for the Hong Kong market.

    Launching four fruit-flavored ‘snowy’ mooncakes (with non-baked glutinous rice flour as a shell), the mooncakes feature Hongkongers’ favorite mango and chocolate flavors, along with elderflower with kumquat and lingonberry with cream cheese – an homage to its signature meatball jam.

    Priced at HKD$49 (US$6.30) per box of four, the relatively affordable mooncakes will be available across all four Ikea branches in the territory.

    The retailer has also been expanding outside of furniture and working on building its offer of food along with designer homewares and even clothing recently. Last month it launched a range designed in partnership with fashion label and cafe operator Greyhound in Thailand.

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  • Ikea Korea sales growth

    Ikea Korea sales growth

    Ikea’s business in South Korea has reported 32.6-per-cent sales growth over the past fiscal year despite the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

    The success of the retail business over the period has been attributed to a surge in interest in home furnishings as people remain at home to avoid the pandemic, according to Ikea Korea country retail manager Fredrik Johansson.

    Customer numbers at Ikea stores also increased by 31 percent during the period to 12.3 million people, with online shoppers increasing by 14 percent to 44.7 million.

    The firm has made concerted efforts to market goods at affordable prices and engage in remote sales efforts. It is also about to commence a new sustainable home-furniture marketing campaign to support climate action within Korea, along with strategies to buy back and resell used furniture to replace 20 percent of the firm’s delivery vans with electric vehicles by the end of the next fiscal year.

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  • Indonesia’s Fabelio raises US$9 million for future expansion

    Indonesia’s Fabelio raises US$9 million for future expansion

    Indonesian online furniture retailer Fabelio has raised US$9 million in a Series-C funding round led by Taiwanese venture firm AppWorks.

    The investment now boosts Fabelio’s total funding above $20 million, with the firm on track to closing the funding round by the end of the year, with a public offering scheduled for 2022.

    “We have not decided on the destination for the IPO,” a source from Fabelio said, “but the main consideration is the scale of the business. Of course, we will consider raising from private markets as well”.

    Other investors participating in the round are Endeavour Catalyst and MDI Ventures, backed by Telkom Group, as well as Aavishkaar Capital.

    The new funding will assist in the firm’s expansion push by bolstering its supply-chain network with further logistics hubs and experience centres.

    “Our main focus will be to improve our product categories and improve delivery times,” said Fabelio co-founder and CEO Marshall Tegar Utoyo

    “Additionally, we are seeing more US and Chinese companies are setting up operations in Indonesia, opening up opportunities for global trade and manufacturing. These market trends, combined with their efforts, will enable us to win a larger market share in this exciting $6.7 billion home furniture market in Indonesia.”

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  • Steelcase launches its first online store in Hong Kong and Singapore

    Steelcase launches its first online store in Hong Kong and Singapore

    US office furniture company Steelcase has launched online stores in Hong Kong and Singapore.

    The Steelcase online stores offer a wide range of office chairs, desks and accessories to help people working remotely adapt their homes for work, such as personal tables that slide in over a sofa to add a work surface.

    As many workers have to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for improving their working space has significantly increased. “As we worked to equip their remote teams, we saw an opportunity to make some of our products available to individuals, to improve their work-from-home experience,” said Samantha Giam, director of product marketing at Steelcase Asia Pacific.

    “We wanted to provide a simple way for our customers to access the most ergonomic products and will explore opportunities for further online stores in other cities across the region”, said Maria Bourke, communications director at Steelcase Asia Pacific.

    Founded in 1912, the US-based furniture company is globally accessible through a network of channels, including more than 800 retail dealer locations.

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  • Ikea stores record strong footfall as life eases back to normal in China

    Ikea stores record strong footfall as life eases back to normal in China

    Furniture and homewares giant Ikea is reporting a quick return of customer footfall to its stores in China as they reopen after the Covid-19 crisis.

    The company opened another three of its large-format stores in Mainland China last week, including one in Wuhan city, and others in Germany and Israel, as movement restrictions were eased. More stores are scheduled to reopen this week.

    Ingka Group, one of Ikea’s largest retail operating divisions, owns 45 shopping centers in China and Europe. It reported that customer footfall in the Chinese centers was back to the level of between 70 and 80 percent of the numbers at the same time last year.

    Shopper confidence there was “recovering rapidly” a spokesperson for the company said.

    Most Ikea China stores have now reopened and some have been trading since the end of last month.

    However, the picture was a little less rosy in German, where 40 of its mall’s 57 tenants had reopened and visitor numbers were at 63 percent of a year earlier.

    During the closures, Ingka waived rent and service charges for tenants and launched e-commerce initiatives to drive traffic to tenants’ websites. The company also helped tenants out with click-and-collect and home-delivery services.

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  • Further Expansion plan for Indian furniture chain Stanley Lifestyles

    Further Expansion plan for Indian furniture chain Stanley Lifestyles

    Premium furniture and home-decor manufacturer Stanley Lifestyles in India has launched a new flagship in Bangalore as part of its extensive expansion plans for the region.

    The brand is preparing to build a network of 55 new retail outlets in the territory, at an investment of US$9.6 million. The new stores will include five high-end Stanley Level Next-branded outlets and 50 mid-range Sofas & More stores in the territory, targeting revenues of $89.7 million.

    “We compete with international brands and are known for our high-quality standards & craftsmanship and proudly position ourselves in high-end home and lifestyle business,” said Stanley Group founder, chairman, and MD Sunil Suresh. “As India’s very own luxury brand, we strive to exceed the expectations of the discerning Indian consumers, and design and develop modern offerings with an international touch that are customized to suit Indian lifestyle and living conditions.”

    Stanley Lifestyles in India moved to build two new factories last year, one for kitchen and wardrobes and the other for premium mattresses and bedding. It is the first manufacturer/retailer for home furnishing in India, and sells internationally to Ikea, La-Z-Boy, and many car and aviation manufacturers as well as hospitality groups.

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  • Philippine chain AllHome eyes strong expansion

    Philippine chain AllHome eyes strong expansion

    Philippine home-store chain AllHome will expand its store network to push its selling space beyond 450,000sqm this year.

    “We are set to bring AllHome to more locations in 2020,” said the firm’s chairman Manuel Villar Jr. “Our expansion program is both sustainable and strategic by taking advantage of the synergies between our real estate companies, such as Vista Land, as well as the opportunities in the home improvement industry in the Philippines.”

    As of last year, the firm’s total selling area covered 313,000sqm.

    In part as a response to the coronavirus outbreak, the firm has moved to secure its inventory sufficiently enough to cover its planned expansion and existing network for several months. China is one of AllHome’s major inventory sources.

    “We can easily shift to our other existing sources, like Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and even the US,” said AllHome president Benjamarie Therese Serrano. “Our fresh funds indeed came in at the right time when it comes to our inventory management.”

    AllHome’s net income grew 225 per cent in the first three quarters last year. Its total revenues increased by 72 per cent to PHP8.2 billion (US$162 million).

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  • JustCo turns to malls for co-working locations

    JustCo turns to malls for co-working locations

    Coworking space provider JustCo is turning to shopping malls as it looks to double its Asia-Pacific presence this year.

    The firm stands poised to launch its services in Singapore’s The Centrepoint mall as well as Amarin Plaza in Bangkok, its fourth space in Thailand. JustCo is already operating from Marina Square in Singapore.

    “Malls in the city see an annual footfall of over 30 million compared to approximately 120,000 in an office building in the CBD,” said JustCo’s founder and CEO Kong Wan Sing on the opening of the 60,000sqft location at Centrepoint. “We believe that there is a huge untapped opportunity in the retail space segment.”

    Centrepoint, JustCo’s 14th location in Singapore, will be the first to incorporate the firm’s data analytics and other enhanced proprietary technologies, including a robot butler, access by facial recognition, and a digital Wayfinder.

    The Amarin Plaza centre will have the capacity to host 1000 members and will open in the third quarter.

    Buoyed by consistent demand, JustCo has expanded the total area of co-working spaces it manages by more than 150 percent year on year, and doubled the number of enterprise clients served across the markets it serves. It currently manages 42 centres across eight cities.

    “Our greater purpose is to build a mega-network and community within and across markets – one that helps companies and individuals realize the synergies, efficiencies and opportunities of a shared workspace,” said Kong. “In just over a year, our member base has grown by 100 per cent and this is set to grow further with changing workforce demographics.

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  • Inter Ikea names new leader as long-term CEO steps down

    Inter Ikea names new leader as long-term CEO steps down

    Inter Ikea group chief executive Torbjörn Lööf announced on Tuesday he would step down from leading the furniture business after seven years at the helm and more than 30 years with the business.

    Head of Ikea franchising Jon Abrahamsson Ring was named as Lööf’s successor and will step up as group deputy chief executive as of 1 March before taking full control on 1 September.

    Under Lööf’s leadership, the business has expanded into more than 15 new markets and launched a new long-term direction to become more affordable, sustainable and accessible to its customers.

    “I have had more than 30 fantastic years with Ikea and the privilege to have many exciting assignments,” Lööf said.

    “I will always carry with me the memories from all the wonderful meetings with Ikea colleagues and partners from around the world. It is the people working at Ikea that makes us unique.”

    Ring joined the business in 1998, and formerly served as assistant to Ikea founder Ingvar Kampred before coming deputy retail manager for Ikea China. Ring briefly left Ikea to become chief executive of fashion brand Filippa K and later gardening brand Plantagen, before returning to Ikea in 2017.

    “Ikea is on a great journey, which is only the beginning, and we will continue to stay true to who we are and what makes us unique: our culture and values, our vision and our business idea,” said Ring.

    “I am humbled by this opportunity, but also very proud and happy.”

    Ring said that he didn’t have any plans to radically change the furniture chain’s direction, with Ikea’s key tenants of affordability, accessibility and sustainability remaining at the top of his agenda.

    However, Ring did note that the new materials, production techniques, and distribution methods could be utilized to make the products more affordable.

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  • Ikea China shuting most stores in wake of coronavirus

    Ikea China shuting most stores in wake of coronavirus

    Swedish furniture and homewares chain Ikea has closed all of its mainland Chinese stores in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

    The decision, announced Thursday, came just hours after the company said it would shutter half its 30-strong network in the country.

    Ikea China is the latest in a long line of international retail groups to announce a curtailment of activities in the country as the death toll and infections from the Wuhan-centred virus rose rapidly this week.

    McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said the chain has closed “several hundred” stores in Hubei, but outlets in other parts of the country would remain open for now.

    On Wednesday, Starbucks said more than 2000 stores would close indefinitely, including its flagship Shanghai Roastery, although delivery services would continue from some of those locations. KFC, Pizza Hut and Haidilao Hotpot were among other restaurant chains to close part of their network.

    Tech giant Apple has closed three stores to date: Rainbow City in Nanjing, Tahoe Plaza in Fuzhou, and Vientiane City Qingdao. The company said it would reopen the stores by February 4, however, this is likely to depend on further advice from government authorities.

    Uniqlo, the Japanese fast-fashion chain, has closed about 100 stores, mainly in Hubei province where Wuhan is situated, its remaining 650 stores in Mainland China continuing to trade at the time of writing. Muji has closed about 10 stores in Wuhan’s inner-city district.

    Some of the Wuhan stores have been closed because the staff is unable to travel to work due to travel restrictions imposed by government authorities.

    Selected supermarkets are continuing to trade in affected areas of China to allow locals to purchase food and daily essentials, although some suppliers are encountering difficulty delivering products to retailers, due to traffic restrictions and a shortage of staff.

    Anne Ling, an equity analyst at Jeffries, says she expects food retailers will be relatively more resilient under the current situation. “Online delivery capability and strong fresh-produce capabilities are highlighted from this incident.”

    By retail category, fresh produce like vegetables, meat and cleaning products are selling well, with strong double-digit increase while liquor and beverage sales have declined by double digits as sales are driven by gatherings and events. “Non-food products experienced a substantial decline.”

    Ling anticipates landlords will offer tenants rental relief. “Hypermarket chains might also consider rental relief for tenants at their shopping areas.”

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  • Ikea eco-store under construction in Vienna

    Ikea eco-store under construction in Vienna

    A seven-level Ikea eco-store is being built in Vienna – with no car parks, targeting pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.

    The new venue features a bookcase-style design with green facades and a green roof terrace with plenty of strolling space. The store, designed by Querkraft Architekten, is thought to appeal to the many families in the region living without cars.

    “The concept focuses on the current megatrends and takes into account the dramatically changed shopping behavior as well as a new form of mobility without a car,” read a statement from the firm.

    “Customers have little time and appreciate convenience and comfort. This is clearly noticeable in the furnishing area: more and more customers no longer even think about carrying their purchases home themselves. You can have them delivered.”

    The Ikea eco-store is scheduled for completion next year.