At these prices, you will lose interest in Köttbullar! The Swedish furniture giant Ikea has raised the prices of many popular products. Consumers are paying double the price today than they were a year ago.
First the corona pandemic, then the Russian war on Ukraine and now high inflation. Furniture retailers in Germany are struggling with slumps in sales. Market leader Ikea in particular must therefore also turn the prices up.
In the previous year, Ikea had announced price increases of a good nine percent on average, but as price comparisons show, consumers have to pay twice the price for some pieces of furniture than in January 2022.
The scented candles from Sinnlig in a glass cost 99 cents at Ikea at the end of February 2022, then the price climbed to 1.99 euros in the summer. Ikea now charges 2.99 euros for it. That’s a 200 percent markup!
The Billy shelf in white (80 centimeters wide, 28 centimeters deep, 202 centimeters high) now costs 59.99 euros. In December 2021, the price was still 39.99. If you want to buy the product in a wood look (birch veneer), you pay 94.99 euros. In February 2022, the price was still 69 euros. The price thus rose by 27 percent.
At the end of 2021, Ikea was still charging 169 euros for the Sundvik wardrobe, at the beginning of 2022 it was 199 euros and now consumers have to pay 279 euros for it. The price went up by 40 percent.
The supposed offer for the bed frame from Neiden costs 80 euros today. A good year ago, consumers actually made a bargain. At that time the product was available for 49 euros.
A year ago, the clothes rail from Mulig cost 6.99 euros. Today it is 9.99 euros. This means that the price has increased by 42 percent.
Consumers now have to pay around 100 euros for a wide Ivar shelf (five shelves, 179 high, 59 centimeters deep). Last year it was 79 euros.
The Hemnes shoe cabinet (double) cost 149 euros in April 2022. Now consumers have to pay 179 euros for it. Make a price increase of 20 percent!
The Havsten 2-seater sofa (in white color for inside and outside) developed even more vigorously. In March 2021, the product was available from Ikea for 360 euros. Today, the furniture giant charges 500 euros for the same product. Makes a price increase of 140 euros or a whopping 38 percent!
Ikea charges 100 euros in the online shop for the simple body of the popular Pax series (75 centimeters wide, 58 centimeters deep and 236 centimeters high). Exactly ten months ago it was 80 euros. Makes a price increase of 25 percent.
According to the “Bild” newspaper, the Malm desk is no longer available for 99.99 euros, but now for 179.99 euros. Make a price adjustment of 79 percent!
The high prices in the Ikea store also have an impact on the group’s furniture, which is sold by private individuals via eBay classifieds or Facebook. On average, prices also rose here.
For example, in the Munich area you could still find a simple Pax cupboard for less than 50 euros, but now Ikea fans have to dig deeper into their pockets.
Here, too, prices have risen sharply, as many private sellers take the higher new price as a basis for negotiation.
The rule of thumb is: compare, calculate well and keep possible price increases in mind.
If you want to set up a new home or are striving for renovations, it is better to wait and see. The prices for decorative items, wallpaper, furniture, paint and spare parts are increasing from month to month.
Consumers cannot expect falling prices for the time being.
The retail giant did not comment on the individual prices. In the past fiscal year 2022, it was not possible to avoid adjusting the prices for parts of the range, according to a written statement.
Previously, the company absorbed most of the cost increases in the global supply chain itself. Since autumn 2022 and thus in the current 2023 financial year, prices have also been reduced again when the supply chains have stabilized and inventories have improved.
The largest furniture retailer in Germany did not want to rule out further price increases: “Nevertheless, we are not immune to the current economic challenges, such as significantly increased purchase prices, not only for our range, but also for energy and transport.”
According to the furniture and kitchen trade association (BVDM), there have also been sharp price increases in the other furniture stores. The furniture factories have increased their sales prices across the board by between 20 and 30 percent, said BVDM President Markus Meyer of the German Press Agency.
There were bottlenecks in industrial upholstery foams and wood. Here the furniture industry is in direct competition with pellet manufacturers. In addition, there were no imports from Russia and Belarus, which drove up the prices for wood of European origin.
According to association estimates, the German furniture trade suffered a nominal high single-digit loss in sales in 2022 because customers were very uncertain about the future burden of energy prices.
