Swedish flat pack furniture giant Ikea has reiterated its commitment to investing in Britain following the Brexit vote, as its sales continue their upward trajectory. UK boss Gillian Drakeford told the Press Association the retailer "stands behind" the country's decision to quit the European Union, with plans for new stores still in the pipeline. She said: "We stand behind the decision that has been made and we believe there is a lot of opportunity in the UK. We've been evaluating our newest stores and formats and yes, absolutely, there will be more stores. We will continue to invest in the UK." Ms Drakeford was speaking as Ikea UK's full year results showed sales rose 8.9% to £1.72 billion in the year ending August 31, its fifth consecutive year of sales growth. The number represents a slowdown on last year's 11.3% growth with Ms Drakeford saying it "gets a bit tougher each year". The company opened a store in Reading earlier this year and plans to set up shop in Sheffield, Greenwich and Exeter.
It is also trialling four smaller click and collect stores. Ms Drakeford said that any new stores were dependent on the availability of sites and funding from the Swedish parent. Asked if there had been any deterioration in trading as a result of the vote, Ms Drakeford said that although there was a climate of uncertainty, “consumers continue to shop our stores”. She said: “It’s all very uncertain. We’re staying close to the situation. Consumers continue to shop our stores and we’re committed to taking care of them by investing in our stores and making shopping easier and convenient.” She said that Ikea UK was hedged against currency movements for a “period of time” and pledged to continue investing in price. “Low prices is one of our cornerstones and we will continue to invest in price,” she said. Over the past financial year, Ikea’s market share grew by 0.5% to 8.2%. Ikea said sales were driven by a 17.7% rise in turnover at its cooking department and an 18.8% increase in mattress sales.
Online business rose 31% and now makes up 13.4% of sales. Ms Drakeford said: “We launched a new website to provide an improved online experience for our customers as well as further connecting the online and offline channels. “Our customers are increasingly using both channels to complete their purchasing journey so we’ve focused on ensuring this experience is as seamless as possible.” Photo from Ikea / PA WireJeremy Snodgrass gets a good night's sleep with Ikea bed slats - and Selwyn Smith makes makes a floor for his dinghy The bunk cushion bases on my Contessa 26 were the original canvas ones – simple and effective but, over the years they had stretched and the bunks had developed a rather uncomfortable sag that was not helping a bad back. My previous yacht had solid plywood bases under the bunk cushions, and although comfortable this arrangement wasn’t very good for ventilation or for access to the lockers beneath. I rather fancied the idea of slatted bunk bases but the commercially available ones were off-puttingly expensive – well over £100 per bunk.
However, while browsing through an IKEA catalogue I noticed that they listed slatted bed base kits. These turned out to be made of laminated beech slats, cambered to provide a degree of springiness, and with strips of linked rubber end-caps into which the slats were slotted. The slats were easily cut to length to suit the tapering bunk, and each bunk took less than half an hour to complete. The result is extremely comfortable bunks and well-ventilated lockers beneath. As a bonus, I can easily see what’s in the lockers by lifting the cushions. The linked slats simply lift or roll up to access the lockers. The advertised cost was £9 for a 70cm-wide kit (80cm and 90cm-wide ones are also available), but on the day I braved a trip to IKEA I was pleased to see they were having a sale – 20% off all beds. So the grand total was £7.20 per bunk. More uses for IKEA slats Having been told that a slat floor was unobtainable for my old Avon inflatable, I noticed the bed slats in our local IKEA store.
Priced at under £10, they looked ideal. After cutting down the slats to fit under the tubes they were given a coat of Danboline and sealed into the rubber retainers with Sikaflex. Once inflated the tubes hold the floor in place and the rubber retainers protect the dinghy material. The slats have a slight bow which forms a ‘keel’ effect if they are fitted with the bow downwards. The floor rolls up after use and can be stowed in a small space. While at IKEA we also noticed their ‘laundry bags’. Just the job for storing the dinghy. They have a zip top, three carrying handles and mesh patches for ventilation. A snip at under £15. Send us your practical projects! We pay at least £30 for each one featured in PBO… Editor’s note: Since this article was first published, Ikea no longer sell their slats with rubber ends – but you can buy the slats without the rubber bits and aftermarket sleeves from eBay Nordli 10-drawer platform bed I have a 9 year old daughter and a 7 year old son…
I now have a baby girl too. So unfortunately my son Wood and Steel Magnetic Knife Rack Ikea items used: GRUNDTAL magnetic knife rack Background: I was looking for a simple knife rack for my kitchen and decided a magnet was the I used the Ikea Blanda Blank metal bowl to create this lamp, and then made a video tutorial. For this lamp I used a common Hackers Help: How to recreate this? Hi everyone Was hoping you could help me figure out what pieces I would need to re-create this: ~ E The Incredible Collapsing Office: Hinged, Space-saving Linnmon/Alex Desk I’ve been nursing the idea for months and I finally made it a reality last week. I’ve been using it every day since and it’s Alternative style for the MASKROS lamp This is my new hacked version of the Ikea Maskros lamp. 1. I used spray paint in gold color, to spray paint the whole Ikea INGO To Sewing Table with Storage After turning the guest room into a sewing room I realized the folding table I was using for my sewing table was too tall.