Ikea’s sales in Korea grows 32.6% despite COVID-19

Ikea Korea said Tuesday it saw sales grow by over 30 percent in the fiscal year of 2020 following increased interest in home furnishing amid COVID-19.

Holding an online press conference via Zoom, Ikea Korea Country Retail Manager Fredrik Johansson revealed that the home furnishing retailer recorded a turnover of 663.4 billion won in the fiscal year of 2020 (from September 2019 to August 2020), growing 32.6 percent on-year.

During the period, the number of visitors to Ikea also increased. The number of shoppers at Ikea stores increased by 31 percent to 12.3 million, compared to the year earlier, while the number of online store visitors grew 14 percent to stand at 44.7 million, the company said.

Johansson attributed the boost in sales and visitors to growing interest in home furnishing, as people are spending more time in their homes to avoid contracting COVID-19.

In addition, the company chief also highlighted its efforts to promote affordability and remote sales strategies as reasons behind its sales performance.

Johansson also announced a new campaign dubbed “Good for me, Good for my home” during the press conference, which is aimed to drive a sustainable home furnishing movement that can contribute to climate action in South Korea.

The company said it is introducing Ikea Farmare at its Gwangmyeong store, which is the first urban farm in a restaurant worldwide.

Starting in the new fiscal year, the furniture giant said it will launch new services to contribute to circularity and climate action, such as the Buyback & Resell service, giving unused Ikea furniture a second life.

In line with its sustainability goal, Ikea Korea said it will also replace 20 percent of its furniture delivery vehicles with electric vehicles by the end of the company’s fiscal year 2021.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)