Home furnishings brand Ikea defies easy categorization, in part because of its complex corporate structure (374 Ikea stores in 30 countries are operated by Ingka Group, while Inter Ikea Group, a separate entity, is the franchisor that controls the Ikea concept) and its penchant for experimentation. It co-owns an affordable housing company, it is exploring robotic furniture, and its research and lab released a futuristic food cookbook. Fast Company sat down with Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, at an Ikea “planning studio” in Manhattan—another experiment—to talk about design, sustainability, and the future of the business. The conversation, which took place in September, during Climate Week NYC, has been edited for length and clarity.
Fast Company: Ikea is involved in a range of activities, from housing to the elderly to automation to food. What kind of company is Ikea? Is it a tech company? Is it a retailer? A real-estate company?
Jesper Brodin: These are not random expressions of entrepreneurship, but it is actually, believe it or not, part of a plan. Our mission is to create a better everyday life for people, and we have three problems that we want to solve. One is regarding affordability, not about selling cheap furniture, but really for people with dreams, how do we make a home happen for them? And we can work to improve the economics of our offering through technology, through production, through different types of innovation.
The second part is about bringing ourselves closer to customers. We were always [set] on our concept of big-box [retail locations], and the way you interacted with us was the way we decided it should be. And the result has been market share of approximately 10% in most places. There is an opportunity there, and it is about being accessible, and we do that in three ways: We are investing like never before in digital, so we can have a conversation with you—not only be transactional—how can we provide that home furnishing knowledge through digital interfaces. The second thing is services [such as] home deliveries and assembling furniture. And the third is about how do we bring ourselves closer to people in city centers. I’ve asked my organization to test everything you can dream of. This is not the moment you’re afraid of breaking some traditional roots of the brand. The danger would be not to test and trial. We’ve learned some things, and we also started to see some emerging concepts that would be born in the future.
Then the third part, which is I think maybe is the most important transformation, is about sustainability. We are committed to being “climate positive” by 2030. But the point is that our future customers are speaking out on the streets right now. They will expect that from every company. So there you have it: affordabilty, convenience, and sustainability. And when you see all the innovations we have, mostly it’s connected.
FC: As you’ve tried to get closer to the customer and tested new things, what hasn’t worked? What are the lessons you’ve learned?
JB: We have rediscovered some core things. One of them is that we actually provide everything [for a home] under one roof, so when we’ve been fragmenting our offer, then people are also getting frustrated. “Here you have kitchens, but not bedrooms, why is that?” So that probably won’t fly. But on the other hand we have learned that you don’t have to have everything for sale. So the two concepts that seem to be the future for us, which we now start to scale out in 30 big cities, are planning studios like this one where you basically don’t carry anything out with you. We support you so can experience live solutions for small spaces. We help you with the planning.
The second one is what we call the small superstores. I think the one so far that has been most successful has been in La Madeleine in Paris. We have had almost 10,000 people [visit] per day since we opened. There we provide everything under one roof, but you can buy a lot of things. But you wouldn’t buy your sofa and and carry it home from there. That experience is phenomenal, and now what we’re learning there is how to make it operational.