PREVIEW

AssetID: 40995544

Headline: The World’s First Second-Hand IKEA Store Opens In Sweden

Caption: IKEA has opened it's first ever second-hand store in Sweden. The furniture giant will sell used and refurbished IKEA furniture as part of its efforts to reach its 2030 climate targets. The new store at ReTuna shopping mall in Eskilstuna, west of Stockholm will bring damaged furniture and decorative items from nearby branches, repair and restore them, and resell them at a fraction of the original price. The chain already offers furniture with minor production defects or transport damage in most of its department stores, but this will mark the first store to solely focus on repairing and recycling used items. The concept store is a pilot project that will be regularly evaluated and adapted. The ReTuna shopping mall is located in the town of Eskilstuna in the greater Stockholm region, and conveniently sits right next to the local recycling station. The eco shopping centre has gained international acclaim since opening five years ago as it exclusively sells products that have been reused, are organic or sustainably produced. Working with ReTuna also gives IKEA the possibility to better understand why certain IKEA products turn into waste, what condition they are in when discarded, how people reason when deciding to throw away our products, and if there’s an interest in buying the products if they manage to salvage them. The new store concept is the latest initiative to help the Swedish retailer with its sustainability ambition of becoming a fully circular business by 2030. Last year IKEA introduced a furniture rental project, enabling customers to rent furniture as part of its circular model. The Swedish company had previously announced that it would start renting and recycling its furniture around the world, anxious to respond to criticism that its affordable, flat-pack business model leads to overconsumption and waste. In ten years, all IKEA products will be produced using only renewable or recycled material, designed to be reused, resold or recycled. IKEA will evaluate the project after six months and thereafter decide whether to roll it out to more markets.

Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story,IKEA,second-hand,second hand,store,shop,retail

PersonInImage: