IKEA Preowned: Circularity or Marketing?
Last week, IKEA made headlines in magazines and newspapers with the launch of its new Preowned platform, “a place where you can buy and sell second-hand IKEA products directly to and from other people.” The project is part of a broader effort by the Swedish giant to reduce resource use and transition to a circular business model (more info here). For now, IKEA Preowned is being tested in Madrid and Oslo until December, at which point the brand will decide how to proceed. (Cover image by Semyon Borisov)
How IKEA Preowned Works
The process is very simple: to sell, you just need to post an ad on the website, attach photos of the product to show its condition, and set a sale price – the system suggests a final price, but the asking price is at the seller’s discretion. To buy, simply browse the website using filters and categories. Delivery is arranged directly between users, as IKEA does not provide any service. The company only handles the financial transactions: sellers can choose to receive a bank transfer for 100% of the requested price or opt for a voucher to spend in an IKEA store, worth 115% of the sale price. Currently, listings are free, but in the future, there could be additional costs, as stated by Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, in an interview with the Financial Times.
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An interesting aspect of the platform is the Care and Repair section: through three options – Care, Refresh, and Repair – users can extend the life of their furniture or wooden floors, revive their sofa or armchair with a new cover, and order free replacement parts for small repairs or adjustments.
Circularity and Marketing
However, the goal of IKEA Preowned is not just about circularity, a term that encompasses not only the ability to reduce, reuse, and recycle but also the choice of renewable resources, the energy used for production and transportation, waste collection, management, and disposal, worker conditions… a true new consumption model. As Tolga Öncü, Head of Retail Operations for Ingka Group – the investment group behind the Swedish multinational IKEA – told Dezeen, the aim of Preowned is to compete with online resale platforms like eBay, Gumtree, and Facebook Marketplace, where IKEA products make up a significant part of the inventory.
In short, IKEA is testing the waters in the second-hand market, which surpassed $38 billion in value in 2023 and is expected to nearly double to over $75 billion by 2032, with an average annual growth rate nearing 8% (La Repubblica).
Despite its ambitious goals for 2030 – “We are committed to doing our part to tackle climate change, unsustainable consumption, and inequality” as IKEA claims – the company that first popularized disposable furniture still has many areas for improvement. In recent years, the Swedish brand has been accused of using wood from suppliers involved in illegal logging practices: Greenpeace and other NGOs have documented IKEA’s exploitation of timber from protected old-growth forests in Romania and Ukraine, often through suppliers operating illegally or circumventing environmental regulations (Euronews)(Earthsight)(IlSole24ore). Although the brand relies on certifications like FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), these have been criticized for their ineffectiveness in preventing environmental abuses – an issue also discussed in the book Cambio by Formafantasma.
IKEA Preowned is undoubtedly an interesting initiative related to product reuse and repair, but let’s not forget that the project also creates a new sales channel for the company (which may come with added costs in the future), helps retain its customers, and discourages them from selling on other major platforms. A small step for sustainability but a smart move for IKEA. Below the gallery, you’ll find a series of links to explore some of the brand’s related issues and scandals in more detail.
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Recall of Certain IKEA Products Following Fatal Accidents (Ikea) (BBC) (NY Times)
IKEA and Greenwashing (Forbes) (Modern Times)
Spying of staff in France (BBC)
IKEA, Russian Bribe Case (NY Times)
IKEA structure (Economist)