IKEA achieves sixth consecutive year of UK growth
Home furnishings retailer IKEA has increased its UK total sales by 5.8% to £1.814 billion in the year to 31 August to mark its sixth consecutive year of growth.
The retailer has also said that it has grown its market share by 0.5% to bring it one step closer to its ambition of increasing overall market share to 15% by 2027.
Gillian Drakeford, IKEA UK country retail manager, said: “As we celebrate our 30th anniversary this year, we remain committed to the UK and are proud to have achieved another successful year of growth. This is testament to the talent of our co-workers and our ambition to inspire customers with the best possible experience.”
IKEA said the growth was partly driven by improved accessibility and its service proposition. Having recently opened stores in Reading and Sheffield, IKEA plans to open two more stores in Exeter and Greenwich during the coming year. It has also introduced a new website which has helped to increase online sales by 10%.
Drakeford continued: “We have ambitious expansion plans for the UK and are committed to making IKEA more accessible to the many people. As well as opening new stores, we are also enhancing existing stores. Half way through the year we refurbished all living room departments in preparation for this year’s ‘Make Room for Life’ campaign and we are already seeing a great response to this. We also rebuilt many of our self-serve areas by creating wider aisles so that it’s a safer and more pleasant shopping experience for customers.”
IKEA created 1,000 new jobs in the year bringing its total number of staff to 10,900. The new Exeter and Greenwich stores will create a further 850 positions.
