The Swedish furniture giant Ikea implemented a massive price reduction in the Czech Republic in September and October of this year. This move affects more than half of the offer and includes best-selling products such as Pax wardrobes, Bestå or Eket storage units. The CEO of the Czech branch, David McCabe, describes this initiative as “the biggest and by far the most significant price reduction of the Ikea range that I have personally experienced”.
Reducing high prices and calling other countries
The reason for this drastic change is the need to respond to the previous high prices that Czech Ikea had compared to neighboring countries. An analysis carried out in the spring of this year confirmed that prices in the Czech Republic were significantly higher. However, with the discount in September, there was a departure from this practice and the reduction also applies to smaller products.
A year ago, prices in Czech Ikea stores were among the highest compared to neighboring countries. In the spring of this year. However, the situation changed in September, when there was a massive discount. kea announced that some prices even dropped by half. However, this mainly applies to smaller goods, such as a Spartansk water bottle or a pair of Fördubbla knives. Zuzana Rafajlovič, communications manager, explained that they monitor price and market developments throughout the year and continuously adjust prices to make their offer as advantageous as possible for customers. In the near future, customers should expect discounts as part of Black Friday.
The head of the domestic branch, D. McCaba, emphasizes that the drop in prices is not related to cross-border purchases by Czech customers. Having low prices is said to be the company’s philosophy, which emphasizes keeping prices as low as possible so that everyone can afford Ikea products.
Ikea and plans for the future
The aforementioned D. McCaba confirmed that currently 70 percent of the products sold in the Czech Republic are made in Europe. Ikea constantly monitors economic developments and continuously reacts to changing market conditions. The company expressed optimism about this year’s sales, having recorded a 22% year-on-year increase in sales in the Czech Republic in the previous financial period.
Ikea is preparing regular weekly campaigns and discount events.
Furthermore, Ikea wants to invest in prices and robots in warehouses. The September price reduction was not a one-time event, Ikea intends to continue reducing prices, which it refers to as its goal in the coming years.
In addition to reducing prices, Ikea is going to invest in the automation and robotization of its warehouses. David McCabe revealed that they plan to use drones in their Czech warehouses in the next two years and emphasized that this area will be at the center of their development. It is possible that in the near future we will see both drones and robots that will facilitate and speed up the process of picking products from the warehouse.
Positive development
Ikea in the Czech Republic is experiencing a positive development in sales, although the market is struggling with a lack of components. McCabe announced that in the previous financial period they recorded a 22% year-on-year increase in sales, which represents 11.9 billion crowns. Besides furniture, accessories and restaurants are also popular. In an effort to keep prices low, Ikea is working on optimizing the supply chain, finding savings in logistics and planning investments in the area of prices in the coming years.
Photo: Shutterstock, source: Ikea, Zboziaprodej
2023-11-25 13:00:23
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