Flat-pack king Ikea sold more than €160m worth of furniture in lreland this year
Turnover at the local wing of the Scandinavian giant grew by 10%.
THE IRISH DIVISION of Swedish flat-pack furniture behemoth Ikea has announced that it sold hundreds of millions of euro worth of stock in its most recent financial year.
Ikea Ireland declared revenues of more than €167 million in the 12 months to the end of August 2017, a 10% increase on 2016′s tally.
The homeware giant – which stocks a smorgasbord of comparatively low-cost bedroom, kitchen and living room furniture and accessories – said that it now accounts for 8.4% of the Irish home furnishing market.
The company has not yet published its full 2017 accounts, but it was sitting on accumulated profits of €27.3 million by the end of August 2016.
The company attributed its growth to its investment in “improving accessibility for customers” and the opening of an order and collection point in Carrickmines, Ikea’s first expansion in Ireland since 2009.
According to Ikea, the new unit recorded more than 400,000 visits in its first year in operation.
Ballymun store
That company said that overall footfall in Ireland was up by a third on 2015′s figure. It said that more than 4 million visits were recorded at its flagship store in Ballymun.
Ikea said the store in Dublin’s northside is performing strongly against its global counterparts.
Out of all of Ikea’s more than 350 stores in 29 countries, the Ballymun branch is the second-best in the ‘home decoration’ and third-best in the ‘lighting’ categories in terms of overall group sales.
Commenting on the financial results, Ikea Ireland market manager Claudia Marshall said: “We are proud to achieve another year of successful growth in Ireland and hold our position as the leader in Ireland’s home furnishings market.”
The company said it had 705 staff during the latest financial period, which was up from an average of 567 people it had on its books in 2016. Wages and salaries averaged €27,132 per head, according to the last set of accounts.
