Ikea assembles modest sales rise in 'tough' conditions

FLAT-PACK furniture giant Ikea has scraped out a modest rise in sales despite a "tough" economic backdrop.

Results for the UK and Irish arm of the iconic Swedish firm reveal that turnover rose by 1.1 per cent to £1.2 billion in the year to 31 August. The break-out figure follows the recent news that annual sales at the wider Ikea group grew 1.4 per cent to 21.5bn (£19.2bn).

In terms of total sales, the UK is the fourth biggest country for the company, behind Germany, the United States and France.

Martin Hansson, country manager for the UK and Ireland, said: "Over the last year, Ikea has had to adapt to tough market conditions but, at the same time, we have delivered a good set of results.

"This has been achieved by maximising efficiencies in our running operations, focusing the organisation on being closer to the shop floor as well as taking the Ikea offer to new markets with our store openings in Southampton and Dublin."

But he warned: "In light of the current economic uncertainty, I can't say for sure what is around the corner."

This year's launches in Southampton and Dublin take the UK and Ireland store portfolio to 19.

Globally, the group operates 267 outlets in 25 countries. In addition, there are 34 stores that are owned and run by franchisees.

According to recent industry data, Ikea UK saw its market share lift 0.2 percentage points last year to 5.4 per cent. That share is understood to have risen to 6.1 per cent by the end of the third quarter of this year.