New York (CNN) — Last year, Ikea slashed prices on roughly 2,000 products to give inflation-weary customers a break. Although that sparked an increase in orders, revenue fell for the first time in four years as discounts took a bite out of its bottom line.
Sales slipped 4% to €45.1 billion ($49.3 billion) for Ikea’s 2024 financial year, which encompassed September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024, the Swedish company announced Thursday.
Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, said that it doesn’t have any regrets about prioritizing “lowering the prices” in a $2 billion discount initiative at all of its stores globally.
Jesper Brodin, the CEO Ingka Group, Ikea’s biggest franchisee, said in a press release that “inflation and interest rates have impacted on people’s wallet and when times are challenging for people, we want to support in the best possible way.”
“Investing into lowering our prices is our long-term promise and this has been a year where the strength of the Ikea vision, our togetherness, and our entrepreneurship lived up to the test of time,” he added.
Like its rivals, Ikea gradually hiked prices since the peak of Covid-19 in 2020 as the costs of materials and transport rose. The company’s major discount program last year cut prices on several of its most popular items, like its Billy bookcase.
Lower prices led to a higher number of visits at its stores and on its website, which spiked 21%. Ikea sold 1.2 billion meatballs for the year, with a company spokesperson telling CNN that it also sold more meals at its cafés.
Ikea said it plans a new round of discounts this year too, but they won’t be as big.
The-CNN-Wire
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