KUALA LUMPUR: Ikano Retail - the Ikea franchisee that brings Swedish home furnishing to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Mexico and the Philippines - posted RM5.25 billion in turnover in its 2023 financial year, up 2.1 per cent from last year.
In Malaysia, Ikano closed its 2023 fiscal year on Aug 31 with a turnover of RM1.58 billion.
Ikano owns and operates an omnichannel business with four Ikea stores in the country, ecommerce, interior design and renovation services, collection points and its B2B arm, IKEA for Business, among other services.
Ikano chief executive officer Christian Roejkjaer said it continued to be tough economic times for all retailers, with higher costs all along our value chain, inflation and a more cautious consumer sentiment.
"Despite that, our Ikea stores and shopping centres attracted 119.6 million visits, up 5.7 per cent from last year.
"We continue to add value to communities feeling the pinch by offering affordable home furnishing solutions, inspiring stores and a great day out together with our shopping centres."
In total, Ikano posted 1.08 billion euros in turnover for FY23.
With 13 Ikea stores and five Ikea-anchored shopping centres in its portfolio, Ikano is one of 12 Ikea franchisees around the world.
The retailer's revenue rose 2.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) as it posted mixed performances in its five markets despite welcoming more visitors this year to its stores and centres.
"Despite the headwinds, our stores remained at the heart of our omnichannel experience as we continued to develop ikea.my and create more ways for customers to meet and shop with us.
"We opened three new collection points in Malaysia to meet customers in states without an Ikea store, launched remote planning by taking our Ikea Planning studio online in the Philippines to meet faraway customers, expanded our fleet of electric vehicles in Singapore which now supports 20 per cent of our home deliveries.
'We are on our way with two new exciting stores – Thailand's first Ikea store in the heart of metropolitan Bangkok with Ikea Sukhumvit, and Mexico's first standalone Ikea store in Mexico with Ikea Guadalajara Expo," said Roejkjaer.
Storage products dominated total sales rankings for all 13 of Ikano's Ikea stores and customers across Ikano's five markets were also refreshing their tableware, with more than 5.5 million plates, side plates and bowls sold from the OFTAS collection.
Meanwhile, Ikea Food continued to be a hit among shoppers in Ikano markets as the company recorded 14.5 million visits across all its Ikea restaurants, cafes, bistros and Swedish Food Markets, with visits up 13 per cent and total sales up 11.7 per cent from last year.
Roejkjaer said the company wants 5,254 of its co-workers to stay relevant, inspired and digitally competent in a changing retail world.
