IKEA Stores Transform Car Parks into Flea Markets to Promote Sustainability

IKEA Stores Transform Car Parks into Flea Markets to Promote Sustainability

(IN BRIEF) As part of the ongoing ‘Keep good things going’ campaign, IKEA Retail countries like Belgium, France, and Sweden are converting their store car parks into flea markets to encourage customers to extend the lifespan of their products. The initiative aims to promote sustainability by facilitating the resale of preloved IKEA items and other objects, fostering a sense of community engagement while reducing waste. Through events like these and services like the Buyback program, IKEA continues its commitment to sustainability and the circular economy, aligning with its broader efforts to reduce resource use and transition to a circular business model.

(PRESS RELEASE) LEIDEN, 22-May-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — As part of Ingka Group ongoing campaign to ‘Keep good things going’, several IKEA Retail countries, including Belgium, France and Sweden are turning their IKEA store car parks into flea markets to encourage more customers to prolong the life of their products.

First launched in 2023, ‘Keep good things going’ is a campaign to promote and inform customers on how to care for and pass on IKEA products when they no longer need them and is an opportunity for IKEA retail countries to engage with customers and remind them of the different services available online and in their local IKEA store. The campaign highlights the IKEA Buy Back Service and the As-Is areas and includes some IKEA Retail countries holding flea market events outside stores.

“At Ingka Group, we firmly stand by the idea that all furniture deserves a longer life and flea markets are an excellent way to pass on products and are good for the wallet, while enjoying a day out with your friends or family. We are always looking for innovative ways to reduce waste and supporting our customers to buy and sell second-hand. Last year over 211,600 customers used our Buyback service to sell back IKEA products they no longer need, so this is another fun way to carry on that initiative”, says Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainability Officer, Ingka Group.

All kinds of IKEA furniture and other objects can be sold at the markets, and they can be a fun day out for everyone looking for a bargain. In April, IKEA Retail Sweden was one of the first Ingka Group countries to hold flea markets across their store car parks, in 2024, with many people looking for a bargain and giving products a second life.

“We see a big interest in our yearly flea markets across Sweden, and we are proud that so many take the opportunity to prolong the life of their products, whether they’re IKEA products or not. The initiative is part of our wider strategy to explore and test how to make our products and circular services affordable and accessible for customers”, says Johanna Nordell, Sustainability Manager at IKEA Retail Sweden.

Similar activations will be seen in stores across Belgium, France and South East Europe. In France, 19 stores will participate and the flea market in Belgium will be the largest organised by IKEA Belgium, taking place on Saturday 8 June 2024 in eight IKEA car parks.

“IKEA Belgium wants to bring people together to spend a day in a friendly setting while encouraging them to give their preloved goods a second or third life. Anyone interested is invited to come and sell the things they no longer need, to come and hunt for treasures or simply to come and look. We will also be donating the registration fee for the flea market to our Welcome Home program, which aims to support vulnerable single-parent families in Belgium,” says Nathalie Van Edom, Sustainability Manager for IKEA Belgium.

The ‘Keep good things going’ campaign is part of a broader range of efforts by IKEA to reduce resource use and transition to a circular business. For Ingka Group this includes offering services for customers such as buying back products that they no longer need, providing assembly parts, investing in companies like RetourMatras, which recycles mattresses into materials for new mattresses, and advocating and positively influencing the private sector and governments in promoting the transition to a circular economy.

More information and related links:

IKEA Belgium: Flea markets at IKEA – IKEA

IKEA France: Furniture and decoration stores in France – IKEA

About Ingka Group

With IKEA retail operations on 31 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents about 90% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on www.Ingka.com.

Media Contact:

email: press.office@ingka.com
Tel: +46 70 993 6376.

SOURCE: Ingka Holding B.V.