Ikea creating a happy home for workers too as firm embraces living wage July 28, 2015 One of the crucial aspects of the chancellor’s Budget was the commitment to raise the living wage for over 25s to £9 per hour by the year 2020, a rise from the current rate of £7.20. Our immediate post-Budget research showed the policy to be very popular – across supporters of all of the [...]
This is what our kitchens will look like in the future, according to Ikea July 27, 2015 Our kitchens are set to transform dramatically over the next 10 years, according to a futuristic installation created by Ikea. The Concept Kitchen 2025, which is on display at EXPO Milan 2015, shows how our cooking, cleaning and waste disposal will become much more technology-dependant over the coming years. Read more: 14 plans for [...]
Ikea promises to adopt the living wage for its 9,000 UK employees July 19, 2015 Home furnishing giant Ikea yesterday pledged to adopt the living wage from 1 April next year – a move that will affect more than half its 9,000 UK staff. Describing the pay increase as “part of a holistic transformation of basic co-worker conditions”, Ikea said UK employees will receive a minimum of £7.85 per hour [...]
Ikea launches on the high street with smaller format stores June 24, 2015 Norwich residents will be able to pop into Ikea at the same time they visit their local convenience shop after the Swedish furniture giant begins trialling smaller format stores. The company said it will trial different “order and collection” points, starting with Norwich in the autumn, as it seeks to make shopping more convenient. “Our [...]
Mobile World Congress: Ikea’s new furniture range can charge your mobile wirelessly March 2, 2015 Ikea has launched a new range of furniture that can charge your phone wirelessly. It unveiled the new "Home Smart" range of coffee tables, bedside tables and lamps at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. (Source: Ikea) The system works using a chip inside your phone to charge it. Although there's been debate as to [...]
Ikea profits rise thanks to increasing American popularity January 28, 2015 The figures Ikea's net earnings in the last financial year remained rather flat(pack), rising just 0.4 per cent to €3.3bn (£2.47bn) for the 12 months ending 31 August. The world's biggest furniture maker actually increased growth in all sales areas. Revenue came in at a record €29.29bn, rising 2.8 per cent from €28.5bn a year [...]
Ikea’s UK sales reach £1.4bn after strong online growth November 3, 2014 Strong growth in online sales and in the children’s department have pushed Ikea’s UK sales up 11.3 per cent to £1.4bn in the last 12 months, the Scandinavian home shop announced this weekend. Web sales expanded by 26.8 per cent on the year and now make up 10 per cent of the UK arm’s sales. [...]
Watch: Is the Ikea Bookbook the launch which could leave Apple in the shade? September 5, 2014 Ikea claims to have launched the next big thing, and we think it could take some of the polish off Apple's iPhone 6 launch next week. The Bookbook is wireless, has an eternal battery life and can double its interface from its regular 7.5 by 8-inch size to 15 inches, notes chief design guru [...]
Ikea probing allegations payments it made helped fund brutal Romanian secret police July 5, 2014 Swedish furniture giant Ikea is investigating claims that payments it made in the 1980s were used to fund Romania's savage communist-era secret police. Declassified documents from the National College for Studying the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) in Bucharest obtained by the Guardian reportedly show that the retailer paid over the odds for products made in Romania, [...]
Ikea sees record profit and grabs market share January 28, 2014 SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea said rising consumer spending in many of its key markets had helped it achieve record profits last year and increase its market share. The world’s largest furniture chain said profits rose by 3.1 per cent to €3.3bn (£2.7bn) in the year to 31 August 2013, driven by strong growth in China [...]