Friday, March, 29, 2024 12:49:53

The Swedish multinational furniture retailer Ikea has reportedly announced the launch of a spin-off chain of kitchen and bedroom showrooms. As per trusted sources, the company has been in the process to unveil new high street outlets in an effort to appeal to online shoppers and alter its business model.

Reportedly, the maiden Ikea Planning Studio was inaugurated on Thursday in central London. The new studio provides shoppers with individual advice sessions which is usually not offered at the expansive out-of-town warehouses of the retailer.

The Country Retail Manager of Ikea UK and Ireland, Javier Quiñones was reportedly quoted stating that the launch of the spin-off is only the tip of the iceberg and is part of the larger transformation drive undertaken by the company. Ikea is now searching for other city centers to unveil more stores with new formats of home furnishing accessories, cite trusted sources.

Sources privy to the details of the development claim that Ikea spent three decades struggling with planners to construct 21 stores of approximately 35,000 square meters on the outskirts of various cities. The sudden change of business model by the world’s largest retailer at this point of time is quite dramatic, according to analysts.

After the demise of the retailer’s influential founder Ingvar Kamprad, the Group appointed Jesper Brodin as the new Chief Executive last year. Reportedly, Brodin has swung into action after the company reportedly witnessed a drastic slowdown in sales. As per reliable sources, Brodin has focused on purchasing gig economy odd-jobs firm TaskRabbit and has further initiated slew of store experiments.

For the record, profits of Ikea UK plunged by almost 40 percent to £87 million. The slump has been attributed to rising cost of investments and higher wages across its stores. The firm reportedly stated that the launch of small high street stores would not affect the conventional model of Ikea.