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14 Sep 2020 IKEA welcomes gaming home in collaboration with ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG)

IKEA teams up with Republic of Gamers (ROG) to develop a new range of affordable gaming furniture and accessories to bring the gaming experience at home to a new level. The range consisting of about 30 products will be launched first in China in February 2021, and from October 2021 it will be available in other IKEA markets. Around one-fourth of global population (2.5 billion) are gamers[1], yet the needs of gaming lovers in terms of home furnishing have been so far overlooked. With the rapid growth of gaming market across the world and fast growing number of people playing, IKEA is curious about how home furnishing could improve gaming experience and life around it. Last year, teaming up with UNYQ and Area Academy, IKEA has started to explore the world of gaming, and now the company takes the next steps into it.Together with a new collaborating partner, Republic of Gamers, IKEA will launch the first series of products designed specifically for the gamers to bring the comfort of gaming experience to a new level.Republic of Gamers (ROG) is one of the leading brands in gaming industry, designing high quality, innovative hardware and gear for gamers. By teaming up with ROG, IKEA wants to combine home furnishing knowledge with ROG’s expertise in creating exceptional gaming experience. Together, we set out to help the many gamers (and their families) welcome gaming home through developing the new range of affordable and ergonomic gaming furniture & accessories, designed to increase performance while also blend in beautifully to homes.The new gaming range is developed in IKEA Product Development Centre in China, Shanghai. As a starting point for the product development process, IKEA and ROG designers and engineers had several workshops together with professional gamers and gaming lovers in Shanghai to explore home furnishing needs of gamers and identify the list of functions needed to secure a high quality gaming experience at home.Ewa Rychert, Global Business Leader of Workspace, says: “There are a lot of existing conventions about gaming which are often stereotypical or negative, for example, all the games are built on violence, gaming is asocial and it is predominantly a men’s activity. In fact, figures[2] show that gaming is among the most truly cross-demographic activities, and it can improve an individual's mental health and general well-being. It’s a source of relaxation, independence, fun; through gaming, people develop skills within problem solving, teamwork and communication. Playing games also provides a new way of connecting with others which has become even more important recently to feel connected remotely. We hope that the new gaming range will help to embrace and enable the benefits of gaming in life at home. ””ROG is thrilled to be partnering with IKEA to create the ultimate gaming lifestyle for gamers. Gamers have always dreamed of the perfect gaming space that is both comfortably functional and enables full immersion in games. With years of experience delivering innovative gaming solutions to gamers, ROG has a strong understanding of the gaming community. Together with IKEA as an expert in home furnishing, we envision that this collaboration will create synergies that empower gamers to build the gaming space they have always imagined in the comfort of their own homes,” says Kris Huang, General Manager of ASUS Gaming Gear and Accessory Business Unit. [1] NEWZOO GLOBAL GAMES MARKET REPORT 2020[2] ESA ESSENTIAL FACTS 2020; Male and Female Gamers: How Their Similarities and Differences Shape the Games Market, Newzoo Report 2017

03 Sep 2020 IKEA contributes to protection of Médecins Sans Frontières healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

To help protect the health and livelihoods of those affected by the pandemic, Inter IKEA Group initiated several initiatives during the spring. One initiative has been to use IKEAs supply chain infrastructure to produce personal protective equipment to secure a safe working environment for healthcare workers. The equipment has been delivered to local and global organizations to protect healthcare workers. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is one of the recipients.The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact everyone. Around the world, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical care to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Since the start of the pandemic, healthcare workers worldwide have struggled to find the personal protective equipment they need to protect their health. “Because of shortages of personal protective equipment during the spring, we reached out to IKEA since we had read that IKEA was repurposing some production lines at their suppliers. IKEA responded in a blink—literally after a few hours we started the collaboration,” explains Valentina Rosa, Deputy Director of Fundraising at MSF.Quality is one important factor for healthcare equipment. The requirements for the personal protective equipment, in this case, protective gowns, was set by specialists at MSF who were working closely together with the IKEA supplier to ensure the requested quality.  The protective gowns were produced by an IKEA supplier in Asia and have been delivered to MSF hubs in Europe for further distribution. Today, millions of protective gowns are being shipped to all of MSF’s mission countries to protect the healthcare workers in their daily work. “We have made a long-term promise, even now in this special situation, to stand by the many and we will continue to do our part to create a better everyday life for the many people. We are proud to have been given the opportunity to contribute to the important work that Médecins Sans Frontières healthcare workers are doing under these extraordinary circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Henrik Elm, Global Supply Chain Manager, IKEA Supply AG.  

27 Aug 2020 Play, display and replay: IKEA® and the LEGO Group introduce BYGGLEK – a creative solution that intertwines play and storage

[August 27, 2020] Today, IKEA of Sweden AB and the LEGO Group reveal the long-awaited outcome of their collaboration. The two brands have joined forces to create a playful storage solution called BYGGLEK. Consisting of a series of storage boxes with LEGO® studs and a special LEGO brick set, the new BYGGLEK collection aims to encourage play and infuse more fun into storage around the home. The BYGGLEK collection will start to be available in existing IKEA retail channels throughout Europe (except Russia) and North America from October 1. The global roll-out will happen in 2020. (Check online for local availability).With a strong belief that play makes both the home and the world a better place, IKEA of Sweden AB and the LEGO Group set out to remove barriers to play in daily life, whilst creating a practical yet playful experience that children and adults could enjoy together.Play is the most intuitive and powerful way for children to learn and grow. However, children and adults sometimes have different views when it comes to play and creativity at home. Where adults often have a need to create structure and organize, children see a stimulating and creative environment in which they naturally want to play, pause and then replay.*In tidying up and reorganizing children’s creative space during playtime, we not only disrupt their play but also their creative expression and growth. Therefore, we wanted to create a storage solution that itself offers a fun playful experience. As the BYGGLEK boxes are equipped with LEGO studs on the top and the front, kids can integrate the storage boxes as part of their LEGO builds. They can store their stories inside them, and proudly display their creations on top of them. “At IKEA, we always believe in the power of play. Play lets us explore, experiment, dream and discover.” said Andreas Fredriksson, designer at IKEA of Sweden, “Where adults often see mess, children see a stimulating creative environment, and BYGGLEK will help bridge the gap between these two views to ensure more creative play in homes around the world. Plus, the BYGGLEK collection match perfectly with other IKEA products, making it possible to have your children’s creativity becoming a nice and unique piece of decoration at home.”Speaking about the creative solution Rasmus Buch Løgstrup, designer at the LEGO Group said “BYGGLEK is more than boxes. It is storage and play intertwined. BYGGLEK provides families with a product range that helps create space for more play in their everyday - fuelling creativity, making it possible to have more fun together. It’s a possibility to play, display the cool creations and return to it to replay, remake, recreate or start over. BYGGLEK is all about endless possibilities, just like the LEGO System in Play.”The BYGGLEK range consists of 4 different products – one set of 3 small boxes, and two sets of bigger boxes and one set of LEGO bricks to kick-start the playful experience. BYGGLEK can be used with any existing and future LEGO elements, as the studs used on the lid and front are part of the LEGO system in play. The LEGO System in play enables children to build and rebuild their own stories and through this process develop essential 21st century skills – with BYGGLEK we hope to extend the LEGO play experience in providing fun creative storage solutions that are just as playable as they are functional.  * In the IKEA Play Report, IKEA asked children what they want and 47% of them said that they want more playtime with their parents. At the same time 90% of the asked parents believe play is essential to wellbeing and happiness, building on to the belief that play is important. In the LEGO Play Well Study 2020, parents recognise the importance of letting kids play, well the way kids play. With 8 in 10 admitting messy play makes children feel free and helps develop their creativity (85%). Yet, 1 in 2 parents worry about their child making a mess when playing and feel a compulsion to tidy up around their kids even while their child is still playing (51%). 9 in 10 children confirm this reality, saying their parents tell them to tidy up while they are still playing (90%).

29 Jul 2020 IKEA Catalogue 2021 – The handbook for a better everyday life at home

This year’s edition of the IKEA catalogue marks its 70th birthday and to help celebrate, it is turned into something that everyone can enjoy and find useful: a handbook for a better everyday life at home!Life is a series of new starts, sometimes they come when you expect them and just as often, when you don’t. Transitions to what’s next in our everchanging lives require new ways of thinking, new perspectives, new habits, new ideas and new solutions.That is why this year’s IKEA catalogue is created as a handbook, that feels like a friendly and optimistic problem solver full of smart tips, hands-on ideas and small affordable shifts, rooted in real life at home. It is a way of sharing knowledge, a point of view that a better home creates a better everyday life at home. The handbook is filled with “how to’s” – how creating a better home don’t have to be complicated, expensive or time consuming.“Life at home has never been as important as it is today. We know that to most people living is synonymous with small space living. It's not always a choice or just a temporary thing. More people have even more limited budgets today. That’s why most of the solutions featured in this year’s catalogue are accessible for people with small budgets and for small spaces” says Caroline Hjertström, Range Communication Manager, IKEA Communications.The IKEA catalogue 2021 aims to inspire people to live healthier and more sustainable lives at home. “We want to help you get there: one small step, one new habit, one ergonomic pillow, one new recipe, one water saving tap or one new desk for your (home) office” says Caroline.The IKEA catalogue 2021 is not just a catalogue. It’s content of inspiration and knowledge of life at home. Content for all IKEA online and offline channels, for digital and physical touchpoints.This 70 year old is still going strong and appreciated for its content. “We are continuing to develop the global marketing channels and at the same time we also create content locally to become even more market relevant with a selection of styles, situations, segments and stories” says Caroline."On the path to a better life at home, small steps make a big difference".  About IKEA IKEA offers well-designed, functional and affordable, high-quality home furnishing, produced with care for people and the environment. There are several companies with different owners, working under the IKEA Brand, all sharing the same vision: to create a better everyday life for the many people. IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943.Inter IKEA GroupThe core business within Inter IKEA Group are franchising, range, supply and industry. Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is the owner of the IKEA Concept and the worldwide IKEA franchisor, that also assigns different IKEA companies to develop range, supply and communication. These assignments are carried out by IKEA of Sweden AB, IKEA Supply AG, IKEA Food Services AB and IKEA Communications AB.