Ikano Retail, one of the franchisees of IKEA, said it recorded a turnover of P42 billion in financial year (FY) 2021 ending August 31, up 3.3 percent from the previous year.
The Swedish home furnishings firm, which still has to open the world’s largest IKEA store in the Philippines, said the increase was already a feat in a year marred by store closures and turbulent times for the company’s shopping center business.
“We lost 17 percent of our trading days, faced the worst supply challenges in our history and contended with limits on food operations and further restrictions,’’ Ikano Retail CEO Christian Rojkjaer said.
“But, even amid Covid, we executed expansion plans, grew our e-commerce sales by 57 percent and safeguarded jobs. Most importantly, we continued to help our customers make life at home better.”
Much of the growth comes from Singapore and Mexico where the company opened new stores.
In Singapore, Ikano opened IKEA Jurong—Southeast Asia’s first small-format IKEA store, selling the full range through digital solutions and multi-skilled co-workers.
In Mexico City, Ikano opened the first IKEA in Latin America and almost had 15 million visits to its IKEA Oceania store and website combined.
Ikano also entered the home renovation and design business, with new IKEA Planning Studios in Thailand and Singapore. It also relaunched IKEA for Business in Southeast Asia to better serve small enterprises in setting up Swedish-inspired office solutions, shops and more.
Ikano invested to defend its offer to its tenants at Ikano Centres in Malaysia and Thailand, supporting its tenants through tough times and securing a healthy lease rate of 92 percent in a challenging retail landscape.
“We made sure that our centres continue to be meeting places for the many,’’ Rojkjaer said.
During a second pandemic year, many people turned to IKEA to set up workspaces, playrooms and kitchens, the company said.
In the Philippines, Ikano recently started operating ecommerce, created its first IKEA pop-up at SM Mall of Asia and designed a reality TV set for a gaming program. All this before IKEA Pasay City opens. The company still has to announce its formal opening date.
Ikano Retail is one of 12 IKEA franchisees around the world, operating in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico. It has plans to open more markets in the years ahead.
“We are the only franchisee owned by the family of Ingvar Kamprad, who founded IKEA in 1943,” the company said.