IKEA

Furniture and homeware A man assembling an IKEA Poäng chair Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA's furniture is designed to be assembled by the customer. The company claims that this helps reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air; the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped unassembled rather than assembled. This is also more practical for European customers using public transport, because flat packs can be more easily carried. IKEA contends that it has been a pioneering force in sustainable approaches to mass consumer culture.[88] Kamprad calls this "democratic design", meaning that the company applies an integrated approach to manufacturing and design (see also environmental design). In response to the explosion of human population and material expectations in the 20th and 21st centuries, the company implements economies of scale, capturing material streams and creating manufacturing processes that hold costs and resource use down, such as the extensive use of Medium-Density Fiberboard ("MDF"), also called "particle board". Notable items of IKEA furniture include the Poäng armchair, the Billy bookcase and the Klippan sofa, all of which have sold by the tens of millions since the late 1970s.[89][90] The IKEA and LEGO brands teamed up to create a range of simple storage solutions for children and adults.[91] In June 2021, IKEA Canada unveiled a series of 10 "Love Seats" inspired by different Pride flags, created by four LGBTQ designers.[92] Furniture and product naming IKEA products are identified by one-word (rarely two-word) names. Most of the names are Scandinavian in origin. Although there are some exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA.[93] Company founder Kamprad was dyslexic and found that naming the furniture with proper names and words, rather than a product code, made the names easier to remember.[94] Some of IKEA's Swedish product names have amusing or unfortunate connotations in other languages, sometimes resulting in the names being withdrawn in certain countries. Notable examples for English include the "Jerker" computer desk (discontinued several years ago as of 2013), "Fukta" plant spray, "Fartfull" workbench,[95] and "Lyckhem" (meaning bliss). Due to several products being named after real locations, this has resulted in some locations sharing names with objects considered generally unpleasant, such as a toilet brush being named after the lake of Bolmen and a trash can named after the village of Toften. In November 2021, Visit Sweden launched a jocular campaign named "Discover the Originals", which invites tourists to visit the locations which have received such unfortunate associations with such items.[96][97] Design services The first US Planning Studio located in Manhattan, United States in 2019. This location closed in January 2022[98] During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, to facilitate social distancing between customers and accommodate the increased volume of customers who were booking IKEA design consultation services, IKEA stores in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain improved their design consulting process by piloting Ombori's paperless queue management system for the brand.[99] In March 2021, IKEA launched IKEA Studio in partnership with Apple Inc., an app enabling customers to design full-scale rooms with IKEA furniture using augmented reality on an iPhone.[100] Smart home In 2016, IKEA started a move into the smart home business. The IKEA TRÅDFRI smart lighting kit was one of the first ranges signalling this change.[101] IKEA's media team has confirmed that smart home project will be a big move. They have also started a partnership with Philips Hue.[102] The wireless charging furniture, integrating wireless Qi charging into everyday furniture, is another strategy for the smart home business.[103] A collaboration to build Sonos smart speaker technology into furniture sold by IKEA was announced in December 2017.[104] The first products resulting from the collaboration launched in August 2019.[105] Under the product name SYMFONISK, IKEA and Sonos have made two distinct wireless speakers that integrate with existing Sonos households or can be used to start with the Sonos-ecosystem, one that's also a lamp and another that's a more traditional looking bookshelf speaker. Both products as well as accessories for the purpose of mounting the bookshelf speakers have gone on sale worldwide on 1 August.[106] From the start, IKEA SYMFONISK can only be controlled from the Sonos app, but IKEA will add support for the speakers in their own Home Smart app in October [year missing] to be paired with scenes that control both the lights and smart blinds together with the speakers.[citation needed] Houses and flats IKEA has also expanded its product base to include flat-pack houses and apartments, in an effort to cut prices involved in a first-time buyer's home. The IKEA product, named BoKlok was launched in Sweden in 1996 in a joint venture with Skanska. Now working in the Nordic countries and in the UK, sites confirmed in England include London, Ashton-under-Lyne, Leeds, Gateshead, Warrington, Bristol and Liverpool.[107] Solar PV systems At the end of September 2013, the company announced that solar panel packages, so-called "residential kits", for houses will be sold at 17 UK stores by mid-2014. The decision followed a successful pilot project at the Lakeside IKEA store, whereby one photovoltaic system was sold almost every day. The solar CIGS panels are manufactured by Solibro, a German-based subsidiary of the Chinese company Hanergy.[108][109] By the end of 2014, IKEA began to sell Solibro's solar residential kits in the Netherlands and in Switzerland.[110] In November 2015, IKEA ended its contract with Hanergy and in April 2016 started working with Solarcentury to sell solar panels in the United Kingdom.[111] The deal would allow customers to be able to order panels online and at three stores before being expanded to all United Kingdom stores by the end of summer.[112] Furniture rental In April 2019, the company announced that it would begin test marketing a new concept, renting furniture to customers. One of the motivating factors was the fact that inexpensive IKEA products were viewed as "disposable" and often ended up being scrapped after a few years of use. This was at a time when especially younger buyers said they wanted to minimize their impact on the environment. The company understood this view. In an interview, Jesper Brodin, the chief executive of Ingka Group (the largest franchisee of IKEA stores), commented that "climate change and unsustainable consumption are among the biggest challenges we face in society".[113] The other strategic objectives of the plan were to be more affordable and more convenient. The company said it would test the rental concept in all 30 markets by 2020, expecting it to increase the number of times a piece of furniture would be used before recycling.[114] Restaurant and food markets An IKEA Bistro in Beijing Swedish Food Market IKEA restaurant in Coquitlam, B.C., Canada Swedish meatballs The first IKEA store opened in 1958 with a small cafe that transitioned into a full-blown restaurant in 1960 that,[115] until 2011, sold branded Swedish prepared specialist foods, such as meatballs, packages of gravy, lingonberry jam, various biscuits and crackers, and salmon and fish roe spread. The new label has a variety of items including chocolates, meatballs, jams, pancakes, salmon and various drinks.[116][117] Although the cafes primarily serve Swedish food, the menu varies based on the culture, food and location of each store.[118] With restaurants in 38 countries, the menu will incorporate local dishes including shawarma in Saudi Arabia, poutine in Canada, macarons in France, and gelato in Italy.[119] In Indonesia, the Swedish meatballs recipe is changed to accommodate the country's halal requirements.[120] Stores in Israel sell kosher food under rabbinical supervision.[121] The kosher restaurants are separated into dairy and meat areas.[122] In many locations, the IKEA restaurants open daily before the rest of the store and serve breakfast.[citation needed] All food products are based on Swedish recipes and traditions. Food accounts for 5% of IKEA's sales.[123] IKEA sells plant-based meatballs made from potatoes, apples, pea protein, and oats in all of its stores.[124] According to United States journalist Avery Yale Kamila, IKEA began testing its plant-based meatballs in 2014, then launched the plant-based meatballs in 2015 and began testing vegan hot dogs in 2018.[125][126][127] In 2019, journalist James Hansen reported in Eater London that IKEA would only sell vegetarian food at Christmastime.[128] Småland Every store has a kids play area, named Småland (Swedish for small lands; it is also the Swedish province of Småland where founder Kamprad was born). Parents drop off their children at a gate to the playground, and pick them up after they arrive at another entrance. In some stores, parents are given free pagers by the on-site staff, which the staff can use to summon parents whose children need them earlier than expected; in others, staff summon parents through announcements over the in-store public address system or by calling them on their cellphones.[129] The largest Småland play area is located at the IKEA store in Navi Mumbai, India.[130] Some of these were closed down due to pandemic. Other ventures A MEGA Family Shopping Centre in Russia IKEA owns & operates the MEGA Family Shopping Centre chain in Russia.[131] On 8 August 2008, IKEA UK launched a virtual mobile phone network called IKEA Family Mobile, which ran on T-Mobile.[132] At launch it was the cheapest pay-as-you-go network in the UK.[133][134] In June 2015 the network announced that its services would cease to operate from 31 August 2015.[135] As of 2012, IKEA is in joint venture with TCL to provide Uppleva integrated HDTV and entertainment system product.[136][137] In mid-August 2012, the company announced that it would establish a chain of 100 economy hotels in Europe but, unlike its few existing hotels in Scandinavia, they would not carry the IKEA name, nor would they use IKEA furniture and furnishings – they would be operated by an unnamed international group of hoteliers.[138] As of 30 April 2018, however, the company owned only a single hotel, the IKEA Hotell in Älmhult, Sweden. It was previously planning to open another one, in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, after converting the historic Pirelli Building. The company received approval for the concept from the city's planning commission in mid-November 2018; the building was to include 165 rooms and the property would offer 129 dedicated parking spaces. Research in April 2019 provided no indication that the hotel had been completed as of that time.[139][140] The building was then sold to Connecticut architect and developer Becker + Becker for $1,2 million.[141] Opening in 2022 under Hotel Marcel, it will be managed by Chesapeake Hospitality and became part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection.[142][143] From 2016 to 2018, IKEA made the Saladda belt-driven bicycle.[144] In September 2017, IKEA announced they would be acquiring San Francisco-based TaskRabbit. The deal, completed later that year, has TaskRabbit operating as an independent company.[145] In March 2020, IKEA announced that it had partnered with Pizza Hut Hong Kong on a joint venture. IKEA launched a new side table called SÄVA. The table, designed to resemble a pizza saver, would be boxed in packaging resembling a pizza box, and the building instructions included a suggestion to order a Swedish meatball pizza from Pizza Hut, which would contain the same meatballs served in IKEA restaurants.[146][147] In April 2020, IKEA acquired AI imaging startup Geomagical Labs.[148][149] In July 2020, IKEA opened a concept store in the Harajuku district of Tokyo, Japan, where it launched its first ever apparel line.[150] Ingka Centres, IKEA's malls division, announced in December 2021 that it would open two malls, anchored by IKEA stores, in Gurugram and Noida in India at a cost of around ₹9,000 crore (US$1.1 billion). Both malls are expected to open by 2025.[151]