Ikea could cost you dear
Prices soar by up to 80% at flatpack chain as raw material costs rocket
IT prides itself on the budget prices that help to keep its stylish flatpack furniture flying off the shelves.
But Ikea has increased them by up to 80 per cent in a year, a study reveals.
Furniture price rises are a major contributor to the wider cost of living increase.
Ikea has blamed the higher cost of raw materials and shipping for its increases, which are linked to the impact of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The Swedish firm’s Jokkmokk set of dining table and chairs has increased by 80 per cent from £99 to £179, according to the study by Retail Week.
It found a Glostad two-seater sofa that cost £90 is now £150 –
an increase of more than 60 per cent – while a Brimnes chest of drawers went up by 47 per cent from £85 to £125. A Vatnestrom super king mattress increased by 32 per cent from £650 to £859 and bed frames, such as the Fyresdal and Slattum, are up by 46 per cent.
Ikea said it kept its prices low so that ‘as many people as possible are able to afford them [and] this remains our focus’.
But it added: ‘We are not immune to the macro- economic developments that businesses, retailers and the public are currently facing, from the increased cost of materials and transportation to the war in Ukraine and inflation.
‘We have had to adjust our prices to reflect this increased cost base. Our approach during this period has sought to protect the prices of our most-loved and lowest-priced products.’
Ikea said prices continued to be a ‘key cornerstone’ of the business and it intended to keep them as low as it can and reduce them when possible