IKEA THE NETFLIX OF FURNITURE

Ikea is accelerating in the circular economy. The Swedish furniture kit specialist announced Wednesday, April 3, 2019 the launch of an offer of furniture for rent.

This new marketing model will affect some 30 countries, including Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland. This new service should be implemented in 2020.

In Switzerland, where several experiments are already in progress, Ikea is testing rental furniture for small businesses. Similar tests will also be conducted in Sweden for private companies, but also for public partners. In the Netherlands, students are at the center of Ikea's strategy.

Customer behavior changes. They want to be less wasteful and seek help to extend the life of their products. With this service Ingka Group (the parent company of Ikea France) wants to return a more responsible image and stick to the expectations of consumers who are increasingly demanding on the impact that their purchases have on the environment. In 2017, Ikea opened its first "sustainable" store in western Germany.

This project is therefore part of Ikea's goal to become a circular company with a positive impact on the climate by 2030. That year, all IKEA products will be made from renewable and recycled materials, they will be designed according to circular design principles to be reused, repaired, upgraded and recycled.

Ikea would indeed consume 1% of all the wood used on the planet according to the Pacific Standard website. Society seems to be aware of its ecological footprint.

If the approach is commendable, is the rental system of real interest to consumers ?

This new track explored by Ikea is part of a more global transformation of the company.

The visionary Ingvar Kamprad anticipated in the last century the major trends of the time such as the rise of the car, the emergence of life in the suburbs or the growing demand of the middle class for cheap furniture.

But in recent years, the Amazon threat hangs over Ikea, his boss Jeff Bezos does not hide his ambition for the furniture market ... At the Swedish brand not to miss the new trend of e-commerce.

In 2018 the group's website saw its attendance increase by 8.7%, with 2.5 billion online visits.