Ikea has recorded a rise in full-year sales as it unveiled plans to sell its products on third-party ecommerce websites such as Amazon to make up for the decline in store visits.
The flat pack furniture retailer said overall group sales for the year to August grew 3.8 per cent to €34.1 billion (£30 billion), with 817 million customers walking through its doors.
The Swedish retail giant also saw 2.1 billion visits to its website, and boasted that it now owns more wind turbines than stores as it works to become “energy independent”.
Ikea said that following investments in France, Canada and Lithuania, its total number of wind turbines has risen to 415.
“We will use our stable financial situation to invest in meeting the needs of our customers even better,” said Jesper Brodin, the retailer’s recently-appointed chief executive.
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He added: “This means Ikea Group now owns more wind turbines than stores and is getting closer to its target to become energy independent by producing as much renewable energy as consumed through operations, by 2020.”
Ikea operates 355 stores in 29 countries.
The company recently acquired TaskRabbit, a startup that links freelance workers such as electricians and plumbers with local household jobs.
Ikea UK and Ireland’s annual sales will be released later this year.
