Ikea: Furniture retailer gives reasons for price increases of up to 131 percent

High costs for raw materials, transport and energy have also driven up the prices for furniture. Two wood suppliers have failed in the war party Russia and its ally Belarus.

High costs for raw materials, transport and energy have also driven up the price of furniture. Two wood suppliers have failed in the war party Russia and its ally Belarus.

The furniture retailer Ikea justified its sometimes sharp price increases with increased costs for purchasing, transport and energy. The "Bild" had compared the current prices of selected products with those from the previous year and came up with increases of up to 131 percent for the "Nesttun" bed frame. Ikea classics such as the "Billy" bookshelf (53 percent) and the "Pax" wardrobe (50 percent) are also significantly more expensive than a year ago.

Ikea did not comment on the individual prices on Wednesday. In the past financial year 2022, it was not possible to avoid adjusting the prices for parts of the range, it said in a written statement.

Previously, the company absorbed most of the cost increases in the global supply chain itself. Since autumn 2022 and thus in the current 2023 financial year, prices have also been reduced again when the supply chains have stabilized and inventories have improved.

Ikea does not rule out further price increases

The largest furniture retailer in Germany did not want to rule out further price increases: "Nevertheless, we are not immune to the current economic challenges, such as significantly increased purchase prices, not only for our range, but also for energy and transport."

According to estimates by the trade association for furniture and cakes (BVDM), there have also been sharp jumps in prices in the other furniture stores. The furniture factories had increased their sales prices across the board by between 20 and 30 percent, said BVDM President Markus Meyer of the German Press Agency.

There were bottlenecks in industrial upholstery foams and wood. Here the furniture industry is in direct competition with pellet manufacturers. In addition, there were no imports from Russia and Belarus, which drove up the prices for wood of European origin.

Furniture retail will suffer high single-digit sales losses in 2022

According to association estimates, the German furniture trade suffered a nominal high single-digit loss in sales in 2022 because customers were very uncertain about the future burden of energy prices. "Uncertainty is the worst thing for us," Meyer said.

There were no catch-up effects like in the Corona year 2021. Demand has only stabilized somewhat since November, but has by no means reached the level before the Ukraine war.

In its inflation basket for furniture, lighting, appliances and household accessories, the Federal Statistical Office shows an increase of 7.1 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year. (dpa/lh) dpa