China, Russia drive jump in Ikea sales
Ikea Group, the world’s largest furniture retailer, said full-year sales rose 11 per cent, led by growth in China and Russia and helped by improvement in southern Europe.
Revenue advanced to 31.9 billion ($47.5 billion) in the 12 months through August, the vendor of Billy bookshelves said in an emailed statement Thursday.
Excluding currency shifts, sales grew 8.9 per cent. Same-store sales advanced 5.1 per cent.
“China remained the fastest-growing Ikea Group market, followed by Russia,” Ikea said. “Germany showed record growth and North America performed well. Also south Europe demonstrated positive progress.”
Ikea Group, which runs the majority of the world’s Ikea stores, is targeting 50 billion ($75 billion) in sales by 2020 as it adds outlets, ex- pands its online offerings and introduces collections more frequently.
Closely held Ikea Group had 315 stores in 27 countries in 2014, according to its website.
In the full year 2014/2015, it opened 13 new stores and three pickup points, where customers can see a limited part of the range and collect preordered items. The collection points were opened in Spain, Norway and Finland.
“Looking ahead, we see many opportunities for us to continue to grow through our stores and by meeting our customers in new exciting ways in our multi-channel environment — a journey we have only just begun,” Ikea Group CEO Peter Agnefjaell said in the statement.
“Continued growth and strong results enable us to continue to invest in our co-workers, in the value chain, as well as in sustainability.”