IKEA enters into direct competition with eBay and Marktplaats. The seller of home accessories wants to expand his online platform for second -hand furniture to the rest of Europe.
CEO Jesper Brodin of Ingka, the operator of Ikea stores, announced the news on Tuesday morning in the British business newspaper Financial Times After a successful pilot with a platform for second -hand furniture in Madrid and Oslo. “It works, people like it,” said Brodin. “We have decided to expand the system from Madrid to the whole of Spain and from Oslo to Norway. In a few years we want to scale up to all markets in Europe. “
The website of Ikea Preowned, with which the Swedish residential store in Oslo and Madrid played a pilot, was visited by 200,000 customers. IKEA is not responsible for shipping and transactions: it is a platform where private individuals must come to a deal with each other. The big difference with a new IKEA furniture is that you do not put it together yourself: the previous owner has normally already done that.
IKEA does offer support via the website: you will find dimensions, photos, manuals, the suggested retail price and spare parts of the furniture that are for sale. It is also possible to buy the second -hand furniture with IKEA shopping vouchers, but then the buyer has to pay 15 percent on top of the selling price.
Brodin cannot say how much Ikea Preowned contributes exactly to the financial results of the group. He agrees that the service was introduced for a different reason than improving the results, but says he is “positively surprised” about the interest in the online store.
IKEA wants to play a pioneering role in the field of sustainability. For example, the company decided at an early stage to only sell energy -efficient LED lamps and offer cheap solar panels.