Swed House will replace IKEA in Moscow

In Moscow in 2023, 10 stores of the Belarusian analogue of the Swedish IKEA may open.

The Union of Shopping Centers (STC) of Russia recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Belarusian company Swed House, which manufactures and sells household goods, furniture and textiles, similar in assortment to the products of the Swedish IKEA. It is expected that already this year Swed House will open ten stores in Russia with an area of ​​up to 1,000 square meters. In the coming years, it is planned to open about 50 Swed House stores throughout the country. The company can also rent former IKEA premises in Mega shopping centers.

In addition, three IKEA plants in Russia, which are planned to be acquired by Luzales and Slotex, can resume production. Dmitry Morkovkin, Associate Professor of the Department of Economic Theory of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Moskovskaya Pravda the details.

— IKEA has suspended the operation of its stores in Russia in 2022. Then IKEA stopped doing retail business in the Russian Federation, selling the brand’s goods through the official online store. On June 15, 2022, the Swedish company announced its intention to sell all four factories in Russia, located in the Leningrad, Kirov and Novgorod regions, but later the two factories were merged into one, so the deal covers three factories. On February 16, 2023, the Russian government approved the sale of three IKEA factories. The buyers will be Slotex and Luzales. They specialize in furniture and lumber. The information was confirmed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. All jobs at the enterprises will be preserved. And their products will be sold in domestic retail chains,” said Dmitry Morkovkin.

The expert assumes that the range of products manufactured by factories, as far as possible, will be preserved, since it has an increased demand. An indirect confirmation of this is the fact that a few months ago Yandex Market opened the sale of goods purchased from the Russian division of IKEA.

Meanwhile, Kirill Malyshev, director of the Sales and Marketing Strategy practice at Reksoft Consulting, suggests that at least furniture products a la IKEA are unlikely to be in the same demand as before.

– The departure of IKEA caused a certain stir in early spring, but in general, the Russian furniture market is expected to fall. True, IKEA has nothing to do with it, the main reasons are inflation and a drop in real incomes of the population, and since furniture is not a commodity, they will save on its purchase, the expert said. – We are already seeing a certain redistribution of the market – since the end of spring 2022, the demand for custom-made furniture has been growing by 20 – 30%, and the share of domestic players is also growing. However, in general, the market is falling, and the depth of its fall will greatly depend on the development of the general economic situation in the country.

In a positive scenario, according to Kirill Malyshev, we will certainly see a number of Russian companies that will compete with imported furniture products.

For now, you have to be content with what you have. And if we talk about furniture, then fans of IKEA products today, of course, can take the opportunity to buy a bed or a rack through Yandex Market, but the prices on the marketplace, to put it mildly, bite. Although in fairness it should be noted that the cost of other categories of goods in the IKEA section is quite acceptable. Well, let’s wait for the opening of Swed House and see what and how much this company will offer Muscovites.

Alena Bodrienko.

Photo by mobile reporter / Moskva agency