Ikea Japan launching online store

Ikea Japan will make a full-fledged entry into internet sales, offering nearly all store items through a dedicated website to launch in late April.

Plans call for selling 9000-odd products, excluding food and plants. They will initially be shipped from the nation’s nine Ikea stores. When coverage expands there will be direct shipping from warehouses.

While customers in certain regions have been able to order items via e-mail, the company has not had an official online store.

The local unit of the Swedish furniture retailer has tested the online service in southwestern Japan’s Kyushu and Yamaguchi prefectures since January, charging a minimum of ￥3990 (US$35.40) for shipping and handling. This may be reduced, depending on the delivery destination and items bought.

Ikea Japan has a logistics centre in Yatomi, Aichi prefecture. Spanning 54,000 sqm, it opened in 2008. A 31,000 sqm section dedicated to online shopping will be added and launch next year.

Ikea Japan aims to have online sales account for half of its revenue in 10 years. Its sales shrank 2 per cent to ￥76.7 billion for the year ended August. The company will add the online push to an ongoing initiative of increasing smaller stores to gain momentum toward a sales target of ￥140 billion in 2020.