IKEA opens pick-up points in Split, a new outlet store in Zagreb

After the successful implementation of e-commerce and receiving three thousand orders online, IKEA announces that in the next 12 months, it will first open pick-up points in Split, and then, as needed, in other Croatian cities. The company’s management has not ruled out the possibility of opening another sales center, like the one in Zagreb, in the long term, but for now, IKEA’s expansion strategy in Croatia is limited to online orders, one-on-one kitchen planning via Skype, cash payment upon collection of goods, and, of course, reducing delivery service costs through the mentioned points.

– In our second year of operation, we achieved excellent sales results and opened an online sales channel to be even more accessible to Croatian customers. We will continue to develop and adapt our offerings and services to the satisfaction of our visitors, and the news that will surely please them is the opening of a pick-up point in Split, which we plan to launch in the next 12 months, announced Stefan Vanoverbeke, director of IKEA Croatia and regional director of IKEA South East Europe (SEE).

Presenting the business results, Vanoverbeke highlighted that this business year, a revenue of 567.7 million kuna (72.4 million euros) was achieved, representing a growth of 5.8% compared to the first business year, 2015. The department store achieved 535.7 million kuna (68.3 million euros), while IKEA FOOD (Restaurant and Bistro, Cafe, and Swedish Food Store) generated 27.4 million kuna (3.5 million euros).

– These are impressive results, knowing that the restaurant exists to make the shopping experience in our store pleasant – commented the company director on the restaurant results at IKEA.

Vanoverbeke also stated that IKEA South East Europe has an ambitious expansion plan and aims to open 13 department stores in the region (Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Romania) by 2025. In Croatia, IKEA, together with its sister company IKEA Centres, has launched the Designer Outlet Croatia project. This is a fashion outlet next to the IKEA Zagreb department store, construction of which will begin in 2017, with the opening expected in 2018, and upon completion of the first phase of the project, the opening of more than 400 new jobs is anticipated.

In addition to excellent results in food sales, IKEA is also satisfied with kitchen sales, with a total of 3,300 kitchens purchased, and speaking about the logic of the Swedish company’s business, it was highlighted that as much as 92% of the waste produced by IKEA and its customers, which amounts to about 10 tons of garbage, has been successfully recycled. Furthermore, by building its own waste management network, IKEA Croatia has managed to earn 174,000 kuna from waste this year alone.

– The entire IKEA strategy is based on fully utilizing and recycling all materials. We have developed our own network, collaborating with three companies, Unija nova, Hamburger recycling, and Ecoflor, says Hrvoje Dragušica, head of the sustainability department at IKEA.

Thus, IKEA Croatia literally sells, along with furniture and food, cardboard, paper, foil, early glass, styrofoam, and mirrors, while everything else is disposed of.

– When it comes to plastic bottles, we have a contract with Velprom, which buys them from us. As we are starting with the Swedish Food Market, we will soon sign a contract with the Energy Efficiency Fund to organize independent purchases.

In line with the sustainability postulate, IKEA also announces the MSL@H project (More Sustainable Life at Home), which will allow customers to redesign their homes according to sustainability principles. What IKEA offers, starting today, can also be seen by Zagreb residents in the showroom at Ilica 42.