Key Points :

Digital expansion: IKEA launches JD.com flagship store with 6,500 offerings, including game-only furniture, to propel online transactions in China.

Omnichannel expansion: Move supplements Tmall presence and 40 stores with backing from 6.3 billion yuan 2027 investment plan.

Key Background :

IKEA first came to China in 1998 and for many years was among its five largest markets in terms of sales. Expansion, though, quickened pace more slowly in recent years. Ingka Group the franchise partner who has about 90% of the IKEA stores globally reported China accounted for only 3.5% of total sales in the 2023–2024 fiscal year, nearly 3.6% it reported a year before. The 2024–2025 results due later will indicate if recent efforts are reversing this slowing down.

IKEA's foray into China's third-party e-commerce started in March 2020 when it went live on Alibaba's Tmall. The platform worked: during the last year, 20% of IKEA's new Chinese customers were purchased through Tmall. On that success foundation, IKEA has now gone live on JD.com to extend the reach to other consumer groups and increase online visibility.

The JD.com platform stocks 6,500 items across 168 categories like premium gaming chairs like BÄSTBOLL and MÅLOMRÅDE workstation well beyond its best-seller affordable workstation like the BILLY bookcase. IKEA is able to deliver efficiently and with certainty through JD.com's distribution channel, one of the signature traits of China's highly competitive e-retail landscape.

Meanwhile, physical expansion remains a priority. Over the past year, IKEA has opened three new stores in Xi’an, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, raising its total to 40 across the country. This dual focus on physical and digital channels reflects a deliberate omnichannel strategy aimed at meeting customers wherever they shop.

All these efforts are a part of Ingka Group's "Growth+" plan that is investing 6.3 billion yuan in China through 2027. Investment will go towards opening new shops, technology, and logistics. With increasingly intense competition from domestic furniture retailers and shifting consumer patterns, this multi-channel tactic is designed to help IKEA solidify its dominance in a market that was once the company's most important engine of expansion but recently has grown increasingly difficult.

About the Author

Ryan Parker

Ryan Parker is a Managing Editor at Business Minds Media.