https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Sweden in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Furniture giant Ikea has announced plans to cut 945 jobs, of which 625 are based in Sweden. https://www.thelocal.se/20260319/ikea-to-slash-more-than-600-jobs-in-sweden Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:34:47 +0100 ikea-to-slash-more-than-600-jobs-in-sweden Swedish flat-pack furniture giant Ikea announced on its website this morning that the classic blue bag will be discontinued in April – and will immediately be replaced with an updated version. https://www.thelocal.se/20260115/swedens-classic-ikea-bag-is-being-discontinued-but-a-new-one-is-coming Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:51:31 +0100 swedens-classic-ikea-bag-is-being-discontinued-but-a-new-one-is-coming That's a question many may be asking themselves, after vintage Ikea pieces were sold at an auction for hundreds of thousands of kronor. https://www.thelocal.se/20231219/how-much-could-you-get-for-your-old-ikea-furniture Tue, 19 Dec 2023 11:40:50 +0100 how-much-could-you-get-for-your-old-ikea-furniture Furniture giant Ikea on Thursday defended its procedures to verify suppliers following an investigation by media outlet Disclose showed links between several of its former suppliers in Belarus and forced prison labour. https://www.thelocal.se/20221118/ikea-pushes-back-against-belarus-prison-labour-allegations Fri, 18 Nov 2022 11:35:56 +0100 ikea-pushes-back-against-belarus-prison-labour-allegations IKEA announced plans to hike the price of its classic boiled hotdog from 5 kronor to 7 kronor, the first increase since 1995, but sausage lovers on social media protested, leading the company to abandon its plans. https://www.thelocal.se/20220916/ikea-hikes-price-of-hotdogs-for-first-time-since-1995 Fri, 16 Sep 2022 15:19:32 +0200 ikea-hikes-price-of-hotdogs-for-first-time-since-1995 Swedish furniture giant Ikea said Wednesday it would "scale down" its activities in Russia and Belarus, after putting them on hold following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. https://www.thelocal.se/20220616/ikea-to-scale-down-operations-in-russia-and-belarus-over-ukraine Thu, 16 Jun 2022 13:47:18 +0200 ikea-to-scale-down-operations-in-russia-and-belarus-over-ukraine The company that controls most Ikea branches is repurposing its stores to adapt to soaring online business. https://www.thelocal.se/20220509/ikea-to-revamp-stores-as-online-business-grows Mon, 09 May 2022 16:44:03 +0200 ikea-to-revamp-stores-as-online-business-grows Ikea will hike its prices by an average of nine percent next year due to ongoing supply and transportation disruptions, the company that operates most of the Swedish furniture giant's stores said. https://www.thelocal.se/20211231/swedens-ikea-to-hike-prices-by-9-percent-due-to-supply-chain-woes Fri, 31 Dec 2021 11:40:07 +0100 swedens-ikea-to-hike-prices-by-9-percent-due-to-supply-chain-woes Sweden-founded furniture giant Ikea aims to be climate positive by 2030. In ten years, all products must be made from renewable or recycled materials and designed to be reused, resold or recycled. A store in Eskilstuna is trying to find out what works – and what doesn't. https://www.thelocal.se/20210504/this-is-the-only-way-forward-step-inside-swedens-first-second-hand-ikea-store Tue, 04 May 2021 11:39:23 +0200 this-is-the-only-way-forward-step-inside-swedens-first-second-hand-ikea-store Swedish flatpack furniture retailer Ikea on Monday announced an end to its annual catalogue, ending a 70-year tradition. https://www.thelocal.se/20201207/end-of-an-era-ikea-scraps-its-catalogue Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:07:49 +0100 end-of-an-era-ikea-scraps-its-catalogue In the run-up to what would in normal times be the festive season sales rush, Ikea has vowed to buy back used furniture from customers to resell – and pay up to 50 percent of the original price. https://www.thelocal.se/20201014/ikea-will-buy-back-your-used-furniture-at-up-to-half-the-price Wed, 14 Oct 2020 09:40:58 +0200 ikea-will-buy-back-your-used-furniture-at-up-to-half-the-price Furniture giant Ikea has said it will return subsidies it received from eight European countries and the US at the height of the coronavirus crisis, as its financial situation has not suffered as much as first expected. https://www.thelocal.se/20200618/ikea-to-return-government-crisis-aid-to-9-countries-worldwide Thu, 18 Jun 2020 09:59:07 +0200 ikea-to-return-government-crisis-aid-to-9-countries-worldwide Ikea has revealed plans to open four new stores in the Stockholm region. https://www.thelocal.se/20200221/ikea-reveals-plan-to-open-four-new-stores-in-stockholm Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:45:48 +0100 ikea-reveals-plan-to-open-four-new-stores-in-stockholm Ingvar Kamprad's former assistant has been named new chief executive of the Inter Ikea Group. https://www.thelocal.se/20200211/ingvar-kamprads-former-assistant-becomes-new-ikea-ceo Tue, 11 Feb 2020 14:02:21 +0100 ingvar-kamprads-former-assistant-becomes-new-ikea-ceo After halting all business trips to mainland China, Swedish furniture giant Ikea said it had closed all its 30 stores in the country until further notice. https://www.thelocal.se/20200129/ikea-shuts-stores-in-mainland-china-as-coronavirus-spreads Wed, 29 Jan 2020 17:06:46 +0100 ikea-shuts-stores-in-mainland-china-as-coronavirus-spreads Ikea celebrated a surge in online sales, but also spoke of plans to open three new stores in China in the next five years. https://www.thelocal.se/20191126/ikea-plans-to-open-three-new-stores-in-china-by-2024 Tue, 26 Nov 2019 16:07:00 +0100 ikea-plans-to-open-three-new-stores-in-china-by-2024 Sweden's IKEA is doubling down its bet on the digital home, launching a new Smart Home business unit, and investing "significantly" to "fast-forward development". https://www.thelocal.se/20190818/just-getting-started-ikea-bets-big-on-the-digital-home Sun, 18 Aug 2019 16:35:06 +0200 just-getting-started-ikea-bets-big-on-the-digital-home The Swedish furniture giant Ikea has dropped plans to build an e-commerce distribution centre in Malmö, in a blow for the city's plans for a logistics park in its former northern harbour. https://www.thelocal.se/20190522/ikea-drops-plans-for-50000-m2-malm-logistics-hub Wed, 22 May 2019 19:12:15 +0200 ikea-drops-plans-for-50000-m2-malm-logistics-hub Ikea will start renting and recycling furniture worldwide as part of an eco-friendly drive to address concerns its affordable, flat-pack business model leads to overconsumption and waste. https://www.thelocal.se/20190414/ikea-to-launch-rental-flat-packs-but-how-green-is-the-swedish-furniture-giant Sun, 14 Apr 2019 11:09:25 +0200 ikea-to-launch-rental-flat-packs-but-how-green-is-the-swedish-furniture-giant Swedish furniture giant Ikea announced plans to test furniture rentals in two markets, Sweden and the Netherlands, as part of a move towards a more sustainable business model. https://www.thelocal.se/20190403/ikea-experiments-with-furniture-rentals Wed, 03 Apr 2019 15:28:48 +0200 ikea-experiments-with-furniture-rentals