Circular Economy

IKEA opens pilot second-hand store in Sweden

A pilot second-hand IKEA furniture store due to open on November 2 in Eskilstuna, Sweden, is seen in a handout photo

The store will sell refurbished items that was sent to recycling centres. Image: Henrik Mill/Handout via REUTERS

Anna Ringstrom
Journalist, Reuters
Anna Ringstrom
Journalist, Reuters
  • IKEA is opening its first second-hand store in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
  • The goods sold will come from recycling centres, where furniture is donated and then repaired or repurposed.
  • The company hopes the pilot store can be rolled out further, and help it achieve its target to become circular.

IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, will open a pilot second-hand store for IKEA furniture in Sweden as part of its efforts to reach its 2030 climate targets.

IKEA second hand circular economy furniture store sustainability goals
The second hand store is located in Eskilstuna, Sweden. Image: Reuters/Henrik Mill

The store in Eskilstuna west of Stockholm will, after the used furniture is repaired or brushed up in an adjacent repair shop, sell the items at below their initial price, IKEA Sweden’s head of sustainability Jonas Carlehed said.

The goods come from municipal recycling centres in the area, where people can donate furniture.

IKEA has a target to be circular - which includes using renewable or recycled material only, and helping customers prolong the life of their products - by 2030.

It aims to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than its value chain emits - from the production of raw materials through to customers’ use and disposal - by the same year.

“We are making a huge readjustment, maybe the biggest IKEA has ever made, and one of the keys to reaching (the targets) is to manage to help our customers prolong the life of their products,” Carlehed told Reuters.

He said the store, which is located in a shopping mall focused on recycling and reuse, would be a learning experience for IKEA about the second-hand business and how to attract shoppers.

“(The mall) has lots of knowledge of customers’ thoughts on second-hand retail, and of what triggers customers to donate products,” he said.

IKEA will evaluate the project after six months and thereafter decide whether to roll it out to more markets, he said.

The store is owned by Ingka Group which owns most IKEA stores and is a strategic partner as well as franchisee to brand owner Inter IKEA.

Ingka Group earlier this month said it was rolling out a buy-back scheme to many of its stores under which people get vouchers in return for their old IKEA furniture which IKEA then recycles, resells in the store, or donates.

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Retail, Consumer Goods and Lifestyle

Related topics:
Circular EconomyNature and Biodiversity
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Retail, Consumer Goods and Lifestyle is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

14 experts on implementing responsible resource use as the energy transition accelerates

Gillian Davidson, Mauricio Cárdenas and Anis Nassar

November 22, 2024

How a retailers’ environment fund is restoring nature at scale through a small fee for plastic bags

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum