IKEA to open an online store first in PH

IKEA, the Swedish-owned home furnishings retailer, will first open its online store in the Philippines months before the physical store in the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City opens next year.

“The company will bring Swedish home furnishings and dumplings to millions more next year when it enters Mexico and the Philippines, and web stores will open months earlier than physical stores in both countries,” the company announced along with a report. . for its sales revenue in Southeast Asia.

Manila Ikea, the largest IKEA store in the world when it opens in 2021, is designed from the ground up to house an e-commerce fulfillment operation and a customer contact center.

Overall, however, the company reported that after more than a decade of expansion and growth, IKEA in Southeast Asia and Mexico posted their first drop in revenue as they closed their most challenging financial year with P45 billion in turnover.

At the same time, the COVID crisis accelerated the company’s digital transformation as interest in home furnishings increased during closings. The Swedish home furnishings retailer reported that its online sales in Southeast Asia more than doubled during its most difficult year.

“The COVID crisis changed the way many of us value life at home,” said Christian Rojkjaer, CEO of IKEA Southeast Asia and Mexico. “In a time of urgent need, people turned to IKEA to install home offices, study nooks, outdoor living areas and functional kitchens. Many realized that home really counts and that it is worth investing in making our living spaces comfortable, functional and beautiful. “

The company’s nine IKEA stores in Southeast Asia posted P38.5 billion in sales between September 2019 and August 2020, a 7.4 percent drop from the last financial year, after facing business closures of up to 2 months. and a half, supply challenges and limits on capacity to build.

Combined with revenue from its five IKEA-anchored shopping centers (operated by Ikano Centers, which provided rent relief to hundreds of distressed tenants), the company’s turnover totaled P45 billion or P3.6 billion less than the year previous.

IKEA Southeast Asia & Mexico is one of 12 IKEA franchises around the world, operating stores in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as the Ikano Center portfolio with some 1,500 tenants and 4 million square feet of leasable space.

With e-commerce operating in all three Southeast Asian markets for the first full year, IKEA stores were able to continue selling through long closures with the support and guidance of government authorities. Co-workers set up large-scale compliance operations practically overnight.

Teams got additional transportation, opened more delivery spaces and updated websites as online orders flooded. By the end of the financial year, customers had placed more than 525.00 online orders and amassed P5.4 billion in web sales, more than double the company’s e-commerce turnover from the prior year.

In Thailand, stores also launched a Click & Collect service. In both Thailand and Malaysia, IKEA Food teams started partnerships that allowed customers to order meatballs at the door. At the same time, teams across the region distributed more than P20 million in goods and services to hospitals, migrant worker residences, shelters and other organizations at the forefront of the fight against COVID.

“This crisis brought out the best in us. The entrepreneurial spirit of our teams reached a new record and our business developed with unprecedented speed, ”said Rojkjaer. “We were under incredible pressure and we were not always able to meet the expectations of our clients, but the majority were understanding. We came out strong and I have never been more proud of our teams and our impact on the community. “

During eight peak weeks, customers in Southeast Asia bought more than 212,000 IKEA desks and 64,000 office chairs. Annual sales in the IKEA Workspaces range increased in all three markets. The shopping malls, reduced to operating essential services during closures, have received a steady increase in visitors since reopening and have earned praise from authorities for social distancing communication, strict cleaning routines, thermal scanners and other security measures.

The company kept all co-workers on board during the closings and, in Singapore, will recruit another 200 people as it prepares to open IKEA Jurong in 2021. In Mexico City, e-commerce operations will begin soon and IKEA Oceania will open in the new year. .

“Our priority is to do everything we can to keep our co-workers and customers safe and move forward, because our vision of creating a better everyday life for the majority has never been more relevant,” said Rojkjaer. He noted that IKEA has lowered its prices on hundreds of products in the new IKEA Catalog to make it more affordable for many people to make small changes at home.