Ikea's Irish customers face 11% price hike due to rising costs
The global behemoth, which operates a huge store in Ballymun in north Dublin and a click-and-collect operation in Carrickmines in south Dublin, said in September that it was suffering supply chain issues.
Irish customers of Swedish furniture and home accessory giant Ikea were not imagining hefty price hikes recently - going up more than 11% on average.
“Transportation, logistical costs, and local market conditions” are behind its global price rises, Ikea said.
However, it will stick in the craw that bit more for Irish aficionados of the brand, who will face hikes of 11.2% on average, compared to 9% around the world.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “Since the start of the pandemic, Ikea has managed to absorb the significant cost increases experienced across the supply chain while keeping prices as low and stable as we possibly can.
“Now, like many other retailers, we have had to raise our prices to mitigate the impact on our business.” The global behemoth, which operates a huge store in Ballymun in north Dublin and a click-and-collect operation in Carrickmines in south Dublin, said in September that it was suffering supply chain issues.
It admitted it was struggling to meet high demand for certain products, most notably mattresses, especially in the UK.
Ikea this year posted profits of €3.7m for its Irish operations for the 12 months to the end of August 2020, down from nearly €11.1m in the 12 months before that.
Ikea holding company Ingka said that it has faced an unprecedented demand for products over the past 18 months as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.
“While Ikea has shipped more than ever before, it was still not possible to meet the needs of all customers,” it said.
It added that it did not see the transport and materials issues being resolved anytime soon.
“Like many other industries, Ikea continues to face significant transport and raw material constraints driving up costs, with no anticipated break in the foreseeable future.
“Disruptions are expected far into 2022. The biggest cost increases due to transport and purchase prices are being felt most in North America and Europe.” For these reasons, costs are being passed onto customers, it said.
