Ikea scores fifth year of sales growth in the UK
Ikea has announced its fifth year of sales growth in the UK, and has broadened its market share.
The furnishings retailer's UK sales hit £1.72bn in the 2016 financial year, increasing 8.9 per cent on last year. Its market share jumped by 0.5 percentage points to 8.2 per cent.
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The Swedish business said it has achieved this growth by investing in its stores and improving customer service with a new format for its "order and collection" points.
Store sales were up by 5.3 per cent, with the number of visitors growing by three per cent.
The company also opened its first new store in the UK for seven years in Reading. Another store is opening in Sheffield in 2017.
Ikea said it had created 1,700 jobs in the year to 31 August, bringing its workforce to 10,000.
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Online sales were up 31 per cent, and now make up 13.4 per cent of Ikea's overall sales in the UK. The growth followed Ikea's launch of a new website in September.
Ikea UK country retail manager Gillian Drakeford said: "Achieving our fifth consecutive year of growth is something we're extremely proud of and demonstrates the success of our values-driven business, commitment to our people, the planet, and our customers.
"We are incredibly proud of the investment we are making in the Living Wage, particularly as our co-workers have told us about the positive impact it will have on their lives. It also makes good business sense – we know that happy co-workers will bring happy customers."