Furniture giant Ikea will test renting furniture in 30 markets worldwide as part of its efforts to reduce waste and drive sustainability.
Ikea has announced that it will test furniture leasing in 30 markets during 2020 as part of its wider ambition to move towards a circular business economy.
“Our future success will lie in our ability to reshape and improve our business model in all aspects,” said Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, which owns and operates 367 Ikea stores in 30 countries. “Testing out opportunities for leasing offers is one of the ways we are challenging ourselves to deliver on our transformation strategy and become a more affordable, accessible and sustainable business.”
According to consumer research conducted in the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland, consumers want to be less wasteful and are looking for ways to prolong the life of their belongings in an effort to reduce their impact on the planet.
The new Ikea model comes in response to this: it will offer subscription-based leasing that enables the company to maintain ownership of the furniture to secure reuse as many times as possible before recycling the material and components at the end of life.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to bring together our life at home knowledge and commitment to sustainable living in a way that is highly relevant for many customers around the world,” said Pia Heidenmark Cook, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ingka Group.
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