IKEA is stepping out of its massive blue-box comfort zone. For the first time since its 1943 debut, the Swedish furniture giant will let shoppers buy its products somewhere other than its own stores or online—specifically, inside Best Buy locations. Starting this fall, small IKEA shops (think 1,000 square feet, not 300,000) will open in 10 Best Buy stores across Florida and Texas, Fast Company reports.
The small showrooms won't stock furniture for immediate takeaway. Instead, visitors can check out what IKEA calls "inspirational kitchen and laundry room settings" featuring IKEA pieces and Best Buy appliances, and then order their picks for home delivery. Both IKEA and Best Buy employees will be on hand to provide home design advice and appliance recommendations.
For IKEA it's a fresh twist in a yearslong push to make its wares easier to access. Rob Olson, IKEA's US chief operating officer, says the goal is to reach customers closer to home and speed up the brand's US expansion without the lengthy timelines and huge costs of building new mega-stores. The move builds on IKEA's experiments with smaller "plan-and-order" shops.
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Best Buy has also been trying to attract more shoppers, CNBC reports. The company has been struggling with weak demand for appliances and a slow housing market, along with the impact of tariffs. The company said in May that it had raised prices on some items to offset the cost of President Trump's tariffs.
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