The 2013 financial report for the Ikea Group, the world's largest furniture retailer, provides insights into the outlook for the international furniture sector.
In the financial year 2013 (to 31st August 2013), Ikea's sales increased 3.1% to €27.9 billion and profit also increased by 3.1% to €3.3 billion. Market conditions continued to improve, reports the retailer, with strong growth in China, Russia and the US.
Ikea reports that "Consumer spending is improving in many countries. While the challenging economic situation may not be over, there are positive signs. Important consumer markets such as the US are coming back and Europe in general is starting to recover. Even some of the challenging markets in Southern Europe are showing good signs of activity.”
The Ikea Group claims to have gained market share in almost all markets. The largest markets were Germany, the US, France, Russia and Sweden. Ikea, which specialises in large volume sales of low priced furniture, suggests "this indicates that value for money is increasingly important".
The Ikea Group has an ambitious growth agenda, aiming for €50billion in sales by 2020. It states that the large emerging markets are important sources of future growth. In FY13, the Ikea Group opened two more stores in China – another step in expansion in the Chinese market.
Ikea's long-term focus is to "keep developing better products at lower prices, improving the shopping experience and becoming more accessible to our customers, for example through an improved service offer, e-commerce and continued expansion".
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