Ikea sales down by 6% last year
Swedish home accessories retailer posts €44m in profits in 2013
After years of high demand, Ikea saw its sales drop in 2013 for the first time since the crisis began.
IKEA Ibérica – the Spanish affiliate of the Swedish home furniture and accessories company – reported that its combined store sales throughout the nation dropped by 6% last year, closing at €1.070 billion at the end of the most recent auditing period, which ended on August 31.
Sales only grew in Barcelona, where Ikea opened a new outlet in Sabadell. Figures for the province show that sales rose 2.2 percent, or €289 million.
Madrid still continues to be IKEA Ibérica’s biggest market despite an 8.9-percent drop in sales last year. The company reported big losses in A Coruña, Asturias, Jerez and Seville.
With weaker sales, IKEA Ibérica reported a 44-percent drop in profits from the previous year; some €46 million less. The Spanish affiliate paid a €40-million dividend to its parent company.
