IKEA: EPR's Coverage of the Swedish Retailer That Built Localization Into Global Brand Communications
IKEA's 2025 communications centered on affordability: Inter IKEA Group reported €44.6 billion in total retail sales for fiscal 2025, down 1%, while sales volumes and customer numbers rose 3%. Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, reported €41.5 billion in revenue and €1.4 billion in net profit. Retail Insight Network and Ingka's own figures show a company explaining a sales dip through price cuts, not hiding it.
By the EPR Editorial Team. Updated October 12, 2026. Figures cover IKEA's fiscal year 2025, which ended August 31, 2025.
How big is IKEA, and which company reports the numbers?
IKEA's results come from two separate groups, so the same brand carries several totals. Inter IKEA Group, the franchisor and supplier, reported €44.6 billion in total retail sales for fiscal 2025, and Ingka Group, the largest franchisee, reported €41.5 billion in revenue.
Ingka accounts for 87% of IKEA's global retail turnover, according to Retail Insight Network. A statement that "IKEA sold €39 billion" therefore describes Ingka's retail sales, not the whole system, and communications teams should name the entity when they quote a figure.
How does IKEA communicate affordability?
IKEA communicates affordability by publishing a lower sales figure and pairing it with the volume it bought. Ingka's IKEA Retail sales fell 1.6% to €39 billion while quantities sold rose 1.6%, which Ingka attributed to a continued focus on keeping prices low, as Insight DIY reported.
Inter IKEA Group's chief executive said making IKEA more affordable for the many people is central to who the company is, per Retail Insight Network. The same report counted 915 million store visits, up from 899 million, the fifth consecutive year of growth, and online sales at 28% of turnover.
How is IKEA expanding where customers can reach it?
IKEA is expanding through smaller formats and new locations, not only large blue-box stores. Ingka added 54 new locations in fiscal 2025, including flagship stores on London's Oxford Street and in Delhi and a mixed-use site in downtown Shanghai, according to Interior Daily. Across all franchisees, Retail Insight Network counted 66 new locations.
The two counts differ because they cover different scopes: 54 for Ingka alone and 66 across IKEA. EPR's coverage of furniture marketing campaigns in Asia shows how IKEA competes with Nitori and Muji in the markets where these new formats are opening.
What does IKEA report on sustainability and circularity?
IKEA reports sustainability through counts and commitments that a reporter can check. Ingka published its first Net Zero Transition Plan in February 2025, and Lesprom reported targets to cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
Ingka Investments has invested and committed €4.3 billion in off-site renewable energy within a €7.5 billion programme to 2030. Ingka's Buyback service sourced nearly 686,500 used IKEA products in fiscal 2025, up from 495,000, and 424 stores now run "As-is" areas for second-hand and discontinued items, according to Indian Retailer.
The same report notes that most of IKEA's climate footprint sits in Scope 3 emissions from sourcing, production and transport, led by Inter IKEA Group, and that fiscal 2025 total carbon footprint data was not available at publication. For the wider brand activism picture, see EPR's sustainability PR trends guide.
What can other retailers learn from IKEA's communications?
Retailers can take three practical lessons from how IKEA reports its results.
Name the entity behind every number. IKEA's franchise structure produces €44.6 billion, €41.5 billion and €39 billion figures that are all correct for different companies.
Explain a sales dip with the volume number. Ingka's 1.6% sales decline came with a 1.6% rise in quantities sold, so the story reads as a pricing choice.
Report circularity in counts. A figure such as 686,500 bought-back products gives a journalist something to verify, which a slogan does not.
The through-line is that IKEA ties every claim to a named entity and a number. A retailer with several legal entities or a pricing change to explain can copy that discipline before its next results release.
Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, is owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation, according to Ingka's FY25 annual report, which says founder Ingvar Kamprad transferred ownership of Ingka Group to the foundation in 1982.
How much did IKEA sell in 2025?
Inter IKEA Group reported €44.6 billion in total retail sales for fiscal 2025, down from €45.1 billion, according to Retail Insight Network.
How many people visit IKEA stores?
IKEA recorded 915 million store visits in fiscal 2025, up from 899 million, according to Retail Insight Network.
What happens to Ingka Group's profit?
Ingka reinvests 85% of net profit and pays 15% as a dividend to Stichting INGKA Foundation, which funds the IKEA Foundation's charitable work, according to Lesprom.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
