IKEA Canada: convenient, accessible and sustainable

The home furnishings giant recently appointed a new CEO, and he’s focused on creating better every day lives for people all across the country // By Mario Toneguzzi

Selwyn Crittendon learned early on in his career with retail giant IKEA the importance of the customer experience.

Today, 22 years after starting with the company, and 6 months after elevating to the role of CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA Canada, it’s what he continues to focus on.

“I had been working in retail for a couple of years before joining IKEA,” he explains. “But I really began as a customer convenience manager. It’s one of the best roles because you understand when the brand is successful at what it’s doing. And, you also understand when the brand is fall-

“I had been working in retail for a couple of years before joining IKEA,” he explains. “But I really began as a customer convenience manager. It’s one of the best roles because you understand when the brand is successful at what it’s doing. And, you also understand when the brand is falling short with its goals, and have the opportunity to turn negative situations around, resulting in lifelong customers and friends. It was an incredibly valuable experience in my career. And, given the fact that just about everything we do is really based on our understanding of our customers and their needs, those experiences and the lessons that I learned 22 years ago continue to serve me today.”

Affordability and sustainability

Crittendon says IKEA is a very purpose-led brand. That is the key. The retailer is all about its vision to create a better everyday life for people.

“It’s all of the things that IKEA stands for that have really attracted Canadians to our brand,” he asserts. “Affordability and sustainability are key. And the things that we do to make it a true life at home experience for people when they work with IKEA really have an impact. Those are probably the biggest reasons our brand is so attractive to so many Canadians. And we’ve been working extremely hard, too, trying to digitally transform ourselves into more of a multichannel, omnichannel retailer, in order to become more convenient and accessible to more Canadians across the country.”

The growth potential for the retailer comes in two forms, explains Crittendon. The company is still experiencing tremendous visitation to its stores, with droves of loyal customers continuing to make regular trips to the home furnishings specialist. However, for Canadian customers who are not close to IKEA stores, the company will start to explore the many other channels that it has to offer.

“This year we introduced IKEA Kreativ where you can start to work with AR and AI to really transform your home on your phone,” he explains. “And we also have IKEA Live where you can actually see us showcasing our solutions and our products. In addition, we will strengthen our fulfillment network, concentrating efforts on making sure that everyone across the country, despite where they live or how they want to shop with us, is able to in a convenient and accessible way.”

Omnichannel development

As the company celebrates its 80th anniversary globally and approaches its 50th here in Canada, the digital journey to this omnichannel approach has accelerated in recent years due to the pandemic.

Founded in 1943 in Sweden, IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer, offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them, it proudly states. IKEA Canada is part of Ingka Group which operates 379 IKEA stores in 31 countries, including 16 in Canada.

IKEA Canada achieved impressive growth of 10.9 per cent in Fiscal Year 2023, ending August 31, 2023, as sales climbed to $2.9 billion. National store visits increased by 6.3 per cent to 28.6 million.

“We’re developing the right mix of IKEA formats that are each tailored to our customers’ unique needs, whether it be larger formats or smaller footprints,” he says. “It really depends on how we want to fill orders within those areas because we’ve built this incredible fulfillment network. So, we can actually test and try different formats now, providing us with greater flexibility in order to make sure that we get it right for the customer in ways that fulfill their needs and meet their expectations of us.”

Accessibility to many

Besides the 16 large format stores, IKEA has four customer distribution centres, one customer support centre, three Plan and Order Points, four Design Studios, 15 Collection Points, 35 Penguin Pickups, two windfarms and close to 1,000 FedEx parcel pickups.

“What I have seen over the last couple of years is the fact that home furnishing demand has increased,” he points out. “We’ve started to see it level off right now, but I truly believe this was a result of the different periods that we’ve gone through over the course of the past few years. There’s been an uptick in hybrid working schedules, so the need for furniture or furnishings to support that new lifestyle was present. Even today, while people across the country may be hesitant to spend, they’re still trying to find ways to make their lives simpler and easier, and to live more sustainably. That’s where IKEA fits right in and can be a great partner for Canadians seeking to live a better life.”

And sustainability Crittendon says is the core of what the company does. The executive looks after the country from a CEO perspective but he also wears the other hat as Chief Sustainability Officer.

“Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at IKEA. We see it as our responsibility to provide a better life for many people to enjoy for many years to come. We’ve been on the forefront of these types of initiatives for a very long time, removing plastic bags from our stores and introducing LED bulbs. We have over 14,000 solar panels on the roofs of our buildings, and are developing our EV networks, and introducing more chargers for our customers. And, it remains an opportunity for the brand to continue leading the sustainability charge for as many Canadians across the country as possible.”