Ikea plans more US price cuts as transportation, materials costs ease
In Germany, 2,000 products saw their prices decreased by an average of 20% in January
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Swedish furniture giant Ikea is planning to continue to cut prices in the U.S. as inflationary pressures ease.
Ikea recently implemented a price reduction on hundreds of products and promised "to continue lowering prices in the U.S. in the coming months," the company said in a statement to FOX Business. The products have been added to the "new lower price" section on its website.
The company has been cutting prices in several countries and is expanding this initiative throughout 2024 as the cost of transportation and raw materials eases.
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Tolga Öncü, head of retail at Inkga Group, the biggest owner of Ikea stores, announced in January that the company would increase its investment in price reductions over the coming months as it seeks to restore the company's prices to its inflation-adjusted pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2025.
The exterior of an Ikea furniture store on Feb. 26, 2024, in Round Rock, Texas. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
Öncü said the company has "seen continued positive economic developments and decreasing prices of raw materials in the supply chain," which will help reverse the uptick in prices that started in 2022.
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"At the same, we have been focused a lot on reducing operational costs and improving efficiency – by investing in technology and training for our co-workers, repurposing our stores and introducing more affordable services," he said.
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In Germany, 2,000 products saw their prices decrease by an average of 20% in January, Öncü said.
A customer returns an item at an Ikea store on Feb. 26, 2024, in Round Rock, Texas. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
In Sweden, 2,500 products had their prices reduced, and in Canada, more than 1,500 products had price cuts.
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Öncü said the price cuts that already took place in Europe in September resulted in an uptick in customer traffic and the number of items sold.