Faced with the decline in furnishings spending, the world number one IKEA tables an improvement in the market in 2026, said Jon Abrahamsson Ring, one of its senior leaders.
The brand with 45 billion annual turnover keeps the course of low prices and continues to bet on its physical outlets despite the boom of online purchases, explains the manager of Inter Ikea, a company that among others manages the concept and brand products.
Decreasing furnishings expenses
Going to France in early February, Jon Abrahamsson Ring came to visit the main Parisian store, located in the Italy two shopping center.
Opened last September to replace that of the Madeleine, already in the heart of the city, it welcomes 11,000 visitors per day on average.
France is the third market of the brand, after Germany and the United States. In the territory, the furniture market fell 5.1 % in 2024, according to the Institute of Prospective and Furniture Studies.
For the manager, whether in France or elsewhere, in the past two years, there is no difference: “furnishings have decreased throughout our 63 markets”.
A “difficult” environment that should remain in 2025, in which Ikea managed to maintain or gain market share, according to Jon Abrahamsson Ring. However, “we are looking forward to 2026,” he says.
Affordable prices
Next year is expected to mark the return of growth in the sector, which they have decided to place under the sign of kitchens, he said.
In the capital’s store, the kitchens on display are of modest size. “If we were in Munich, Seattle or elsewhere, we would present much larger kitchens,” he explains.
The kit specialist in kit adapts to his location. However, in Paris, prices are high and space is lacking.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic the brand announced a significant increase in its prices to cope with a very disturbed and therefore more expensive supply chain. At the end of 2023, the unduly listed company undertook to lower them again, a boon for the attendance of its stores, but not for its turnover.
To maintain affordable prices, Ikea seeks to make volume by maintaining fixed costs, in particular thanks to “an assortment (of references) very tight”, explains the boss.
Ikea everywhere
The brand offers around 10,000 products. For example, the Billy library has sold 140 million copies since its launch in 1979. In Mexico, China or elsewhere, they are the same everywhere.
The brand continues to develop in its existing markets, including Europe in the foreground, which concentrates “the absolute majority” of sales. And that will not be done without the opening of new stores, even if online sales have jumped in a few years, he says.
E-commerce counted 26 % of the total turnover of the brand during its 2024 tax financial year which ends in August, against 7 % in 2019. As for its stores, they welcomed 899 million visitors Over the same period, an increased figure according to Mr. Abrahamsson Ring.
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“We note that 92 % of our customers use both channels. They are sitting at home, they do online research and they go to a store because they want to sit on a sofa, lie on a bed, touch something and, perhaps, talk to a seller He says.
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