If you love everything IKEA, from their hoodies to furniture and their thick annual catalogue you use as a coffee table book, I’ve got bad news for you.
After 70 years of beautiful, tasteful IKEA catalogues, 2020 will be the final year IKEA is printing them out.
And the reason is something that’s expected, yet saddening.
IKEA is No Longer Going to Have Their Iconic Catalogues in Stores
On 7 Dec 2020, it was reported that IKEA is no longer going to print out their iconic catalogues.
The reason for that? Because people aren’t as interested in them anymore.
The iconic publication distributed over 200 million copies across 50 markets in 2016, but as the years passed by, and with more shoppers moving online for inspiration, interest in the catalogue waned.
On the flip side, IKEA knows that more shoppers are visiting them digitally now, with online sales jumping by 45%, no doubt helped by the Covid-19 pandemic.’
According to Konrad Gruss, Managing Director at franchiser Inter IKEA Systems – a division of brand owner Inter IKEA Group, the catalogue has decreased, while their digital assets have increased, in importance.
“The number of copies has gone down, but we have also seen that people have much more used our website, apps and social media. The catalogue became less and less important,” Konrad Gruss
With that, IKEA made the tough decision to cut off the publication.
Gruss added that cutting off the catalogue was the most emotional thing that he and his team has to do, given how they practically “grew up” with the catalogue.
Focusing On The Digital Side
The catalogue is a big part of IKEA’s marketing budget (it wasn’t revealed how much it costs), and the money saved from not printing the catalogue will be funnelled into marketing online as well as on other channels.
But don’t worry, though, IKEA isn’t exactly going paperless.
They’re working on replacing the catalogue with a “smaller print publication”, aimed at giving home furnishing inspirations to readers.
In other words, a true-blue coffee table book.
Other IKEA News
It’s not just digital that IKEA is focusing on either.
Recently, they’ve branched out into apparels as well, with limited-edition t-shirts, bath towels, water bottles and hoodies scheduled to drop on 10 Dec 2020.
Stocks are, of course, limited.
Guess they realise the potential for IKEA-inspired clothing after the Balengcia saga, huh?
On a separate note, besides the upcoming “small-scale” IKEA outlet at JEM, there seems to be one more small IKEA outlet coming out in Jurong Point.
Exciting.
Featured Image: MonsoonAndTaffetaDesigns / Shutterstock.com
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