Swedish-themed furniture giant Ikea Group announced strong sales and enhanced sustainability efforts January 28.
The company generated €28.7 billion (US$32.1 billion) in revenue in 2014, which was a 5.9% increase from last year when adjusted for currency fluctuations.
In addition to selling build-it-yourself furniture in giant big-box stores, Ikea Group has a curious sideline of owning wind turbines as part of its sustainability commitment.
For example, during 2014, Ikea Group now operates 224 wind turbines, or 87 more than it did a year ago, according to a January 28 release. Further, it installed solar energy systems to many of its U.S. locations last year so that nearly 90% of its buildings now are outfitted with solar panels.
When Ikea Canada president Stefan Sjöstrand visited Business in Vancouver in December, he mentioned how his company owns a wind farm in Alberta and is already energy independent.
“Canadians are very much into sustainability,” Sjöstrand said. “We have run this company since 1976 in Canada and we run quite a healthy business.”
Sjöstrand estimated that Canada comprises about 6% of global sales. Ikea’s biggest market is Germany, followed by the U.S. and then France, he said.
The company operates 12 stores in Canada although an increasing slice also comes from e-commerce.
Sjöstrand told BIV that he plans to roll out a string of between five and 10 “pick-up stores” across the country this year.
These locations would not be what longtime Ikea shoppers would think of when they hear the word "store."
The lion's share of space will be used for storage and e-commerce pick-up. Unlike a full-size Ikea, the sites will have counters at which Ikea workers will retrieve items for customers who ordered online. Some of the company’s future pickup stores are likely to include small retail areas.
He would not reveal locations although he said that at least one would be on the “West Coast.”
The sites would be similar in size to a standard London Drugs, at about 37,000 square feet, or a tenth the size of a full-size Ikea.
“We have operated stores since 1958 at Ikea,” Sjöstrand said. “We know quite well how to operate stores but we don’t know exactly how to operate in a multichannel environment. So for us it will be a little bit foggy. There will be trial and error. One year from now, yes, there will be a lot of changes.”
Ikea has a complex ownership structure but its ultimate owner is Interogo Foundation, which is based in Liechtenstein. All profit is plowed back into the company.
