We'll be opening our wallets a little wider for the privilege of building our own furniture in 2022. Swedish retail giant Ikea has announced it's raising its prices next year, at an average of 9% worldwide, to contend with rising transportation and raw materials costs that Ingka Group, which owns and runs most Ikea stores, is facing amid global supply-chain issues, reports CNN Business. Ikea had managed to shield customers from steeper price tags for much of the pandemic, but management now says something has to give.
"Unfortunately, now, for the first time since higher costs have begun to affect the global economy, we have to pass parts of those increased costs onto our customers," Tolga Oncu of Ikea Retail says in a statement. The Guardian notes that price spikes have already been witnessed at some Ikea locations, by more than 50% in some cases. The paper notes, for example, that the cost of a Malm desk listed on Ikea's site recently jumped from around $135 to more than $200.
Gizmodo explains the issue "in a nutshell: The ongoing lockdowns across the globe sparked a massive demand for deliveries. That surge in demand led to cargo ships clogging up ports with their undelivered goods, while shipping prices skyrocketed across the board." In his statement, Oncu insists that "affordability will always be a cornerstone for us," that this move is simply to ensure Ikea's "competitiveness," and that any savings the company sees through future mitigation, such as easing shipping delays, will be passed down to the customer. (More Ikea stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
