IKEA reveals store plans for 2016

IKEA today announced an 11.3% rise in annual sales to £1.57 billion in the UK for the financial year ending August 31.

The home furnishings and housewares giant added that its market share grew by 0.5% to 7.7%. It noted that its growth in both sales and market share ‘continues its movement towards its goal of doubling turnover and market share by 2020’.

Commenting on the results, IKEA UK country retail manager Gillian Drakeford said: “We are delighted to have achieved double digit growth for the second year running and to be in our fourth consecutive year of growth here in the UK. What’s particularly pleasing to see that it has come from our existing business, without the opening of any new stores, as well as from both our stores and our online channel. This puts us in a great position to continue to grow IKEA’s physical presence in the UK in the future.”

IKEA recently invested £4 million in rebuilding its cooking and eating departments in all stores in preparation for a key focus in these areas in financial year 2016. This included introducing the sale of Swedish food products throughout stores. As a result, IKEA has seen an immediate increase of 11% in sales of Swedish food items, which include its famous meatballs and recently introduced veggie balls, and a 24% lift in cooking products and 7% rise n eating (dinnerware) products compared with the previous financial year.

Summer 2016 will see the opening of a new IKEA store in Reading: the first traditional IKEA store to be built in seven years. New store locations have also been secured for Sheffield, Greenwich and Exeter.

IKEA announced in July 2015 that it would trial a number of new, smaller retail format in the UK and in early November the first IKEA Order and Collection Point opened in Norwich. A further Order and Collection Point is due to open in Aberdeen next Spring.

In addition to ‘bricks and mortar’ expansion plans, IKEA UK will launch a new website in the coming year.