9 Nov 2010 Ikea furniture sales increase
Ikea UK reported a 1 per cent increase in sales in 2009, overtaking Argos
as the UK’s leading home furnishings provider.
Growth was especially strong in kitchen sales1.
Cost-conscious consumers were perhaps attracted by IKEA's contemporary
designs. The almost totally catalogue-focused business model at Argos might be
ill-suited to furniture sales. This is quite amusing giving the prominence of
the IKEA catalogue, and shows that a showroom is still important.
The Argos superstore closest to their headquarters in Milton Keynes does display certain key items of furniture, indicting they might be reacting to the presence of a new IKEA superstore in the town, and moving tentatively to a store-based presence.
References
[1] Kitchens lift Ikea sales in shrinking market, Financial Times - Andrew Parker - 31 Oct 2010
