A few weeks ago, the Czech Republic literally experienced a “sofa case”, which was started by the discovery that a three-seater sofa with a LANDSKRONA chaise longue can be purchased in IKEA branches in Poland for less than 17,000, while in our country it costs over 27,000 crowns. Anyone who bought the aforementioned set abroad saved more than 10,000.
So we looked at how different the prices are in the Czech Republic compared to the country where IKEA comes from. However, before we start the price comparison, it is important to mention a few facts about Sweden, where this company was founded in 1943. The country from which the IKEA furniture chain originates is the third largest country in the European Union in terms of area, but the Czechs are slightly ahead of the Swedes in terms of population. There is a big difference in wages, as the average wage for the year 2021 in Sweden was around 37,100 Swedish crowns, which translates to over 76,500 Czech crowns. It could therefore be expected that Swedish prices will be higher as well. But is that the case in reality?
In the “home” country of the furniture chain, we visited two department stores – one in Västerås, about a hundred kilometers from Stockholm, and the other in the city of Haparanda, located right on the border with Finland, which is also the reason for the bilingual product labels in the photos.
And now to the point. Let’s start with the main culprit of the annoyance of many Czechs who were furnishing an apartment in the past months and found out about the prices in neighboring Poland only when they were already sitting on a new couch at home – yes, we looked again at the LANDSKRONA sofa set. If you are one of the unfortunate people who bought this sofa and chaise longue in the Czech Republic, you should skip the next paragraph.
LANDSKRONA has not become cheaper here, even after the case with double prices in Poland and the Czech Republic, and it is still sold for 27,490 CZK.
In Sweden, a completely identical sofa set with a chaise longue is sold for 9,495 Swedish crowns, which translates to approximately 19,600 Czech crowns. So it is not cheaper than in Poland, but you still save around 8 thousand crowns in Sweden compared to the Czech Republic, which is not a little.
“Maybe it’s just a difference in one type of seat,” you argue. However, this is a mistake. Directly opposite, in the store in Haperanda, there is a KIVIK three-seater sofa for SEK 5,495 (approx. CZK 11,350 in conversion).
In the Czech Republic, the same KIVIK for CZK 14,990.
And thirdly, let’s look at the VIMLE five-seater corner sofa with chaise longue. You can buy this giant piece of furniture in IKEA stores in Sweden for 18,780 Swedish crowns, which is approximately 38,770 Swedish crowns.
Do you think that the track can no longer be sold? But it can – of course, not to Swedes, but to Czech customers. Here, the same size sofa can be bought for up to 48,980 crowns. The difference therefore exceeds ten thousand to the disadvantage of the Czech Republic.
But Czech customers don’t only pay more when buying large furniture, they also pay extra for small products. Ten crowns by ten crowns. An example can be the TURILL pillow, which in Sweden does not even cost 40 kroner, while with us you will pay the aforementioned ten crowns more for it.
You can get the PELLO armchair in Prague, Brno or Ostrava for 1,490 CZK, while in one of the Swedish IKEA department stores for approximately 1,240 CZK (599 Swedish crowns).
The MALM chest of drawers, which costs CZK 2,490 in the version with 3 drawers, is also very popular. In Sweden, it will cost 995 Swedish crowns, which makes a difference after conversion of almost 440 crowns to the disadvantage of Czech buyers.
A similar difference awaits Czech customers in the version with 4 sockets. There, Czechs will pay over five hundred without a discount.
For the ALEX drawer unit, you will also pay around 500 extra in the Czech branch of IKEA when there is no loyalty event.
And the MICKE writing desk is no exception, with which you will get more than 660 crowns out of your wallet. In Sweden, it costs around 1,650 crowns, in the Czech Republic 2,290 crowns. However, it is currently on sale in our country, thanks to which members of the IKEA Family loyalty program pay “only” less than a quarter of a thousand more than the Swedes.
Even for a SMAKSAK combined microwave oven with hot air oven, you will leave 1,500 crowns more in the Czech store. However, since it is now discounted in Sweden, the difference is already almost 6 thousand crowns.
Why do Czech customers pay extra? The spokesperson of IKEA’s Czech branches, Petr Šašek, told ParlamentníListy.cz that several influences are involved. “IKEA retail organizations in individual countries purchase products from a joint supplier Inter IKEA and then set the final prices themselves according to many factors that take into account local costs and other influences in the country. The final prices thus reflect, for example, local energy prices, transport, inflation or the exchange rate, but also the amount of products that will be sold on the given market,” he said, explaining why the prices in our country are different from those in foreign branches of the furniture company IKEA.
He added that, on the contrary, we can get some products cheaper here than in neighboring Poland, which offers the most for cross-border purchases to people who do not have time to travel to more distant countries. “The situation varies from market to market and product to product. On the contrary, some products are cheaper here than, for example, in Poland – for example, popular chests of drawers BRIMNES or SONGESAND or perhaps a desk GRANDMA BURS,” added IKEA Czech Republic s.r.o. spokesperson Petr Šašek.
And finally, let’s stop at the Swedish restaurant in IKEA, because when visiting this chain it’s hard not to have traditional Swedish meatballs. The taste does not differ much in both countries. Nevertheless, we can find a difference here too. If you eat Swedish meatballs in Sweden and not in Prague, you will save around 30 crowns per portion (if you have a basic portion of 8 meatballs). In conversion, it will cost approximately one hundred crowns, while in the Czech Republic you will pay 129 crowns for it without the discount.
But in order not to end the visit to the Swedish branch of the furniture giant IKEA in a completely negative spirit for Czech customers, we will move to the beverage section. If the previous photos make you sad, you can be comforted by the fact that there is also a product for which, on the contrary, the Swedes pay considerably more than us. You can buy Zlatavý mok from České Budějovice an hour’s drive from the Arctic Circle at the local IKEA branch for more than 142 Czech crowns. At least something pays off more in our IKEA stores. The question is, however, whether Budějovice Budvar is the reason to buy IKEA furniture here, and not abroad. You will pay extra for beer, but you will save tens of thousands when furnishing the apartment. And if you decide to go to Sweden for furniture, this price difference for some furniture will pay for not only the trip, but also a vacation here for a few days…
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author: Radek Kotas
2023-07-29 11:07:00
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