Beijing Business Daily News (Reporter Kong Wenxie Intern Reporter Liu Xiaoyun) Three years after announcing that it would invest 10 billion yuan in China, IKEA once again threw billions of dollars.

On August 24, IKEA announced at the 2023 fiscal year kick-off meeting that it plans to invest 5.3 billion yuan in China for the expansion of channels, digitalization, experience and other fields.

In recent years, the growth rate of IKEA in China has been slowing down, online e-commerce has fallen behind, and offline store expansion has not been smooth. In the past four months, IKEA has closed its Guiyang store and Shanghai Yangpu mall one after another.

With the rise of China's local home furnishing brands, the diversion of IKEA's past market has formed.

With the 5.3 billion yuan thrown this time, there is still a big question mark as to whether the Chinese consumers lost by IKEA can come back.

　　On August 24, Anna Kulija, President of IKEA China, announced to the media that the Ingka Group, a subsidiary of IKEA China, plans to invest 5.3 billion yuan in fiscal year 2023.

According to Anna Kulija, the investment of 5.3 billion yuan will be mainly used by IKEA China in three parts.

The first is to continue to consolidate and expand channels and digital fields; the second is to help Chinese consumers create their ideal home life through more relevant products and solutions; the third is to provide Chinese consumers with easy access by enhancing the omni-channel integration experience , a convenient experience full of inspiration and close to their consumption habits.

　　Compared with the 10 billion yuan thrown three years ago, IKEA China threw 5.3 billion yuan this time, like a relay.

IKEA said that in the past three years, IKEA China has made remarkable achievements in the three major areas of channel expansion, digital experience and home life expert services, including building an integrated omni-channel ecosystem, establishing the IKEA China Digital Innovation Center, and launching the IKEA Global House design services, etc.

"IKEA is committed to long-term development in the Chinese market and serving Chinese consumers," said Anna Kulija. "It will remain flexible and rely on the existing omni-channel ecosystem to achieve stable and sustainable business development."

　　In the first half of 2022, IKEA suffered a 25-year low in the Chinese market and closed two offline stores one after another.

On April 1, IKEA China announced the closure of the only store in Guizhou; two months later, on June 13, IKEA China closed Shanghai Yangpu mall.

　　In online channels, IKEA China, which only decided to catch up with e-commerce at the end of 2018, was a tad slower after all.

IKEA's two major domestic competitors, Actual Home and Red Star Macalline, began testing online channels as early as around 2013.

The 2021 financial report shows that the average daily visitor of Easyhome intra-city station is 192,000, the online customer acquisition is 758,000, and the guided transaction is 13.3 billion yuan; Under the strategy, the revenue was 15.513 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.97%, and the net profit was 2.047 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.31%.

　　"IKEA China failed to open small stores offline, and invested heavily online because IKEA did not really take the Chinese market as a carrier, but brought in many international factors." Wang Jianguo, an Internet strategy expert in China's home furnishing/design industry, said , "If you only treat the Chinese market as part of the international market, you may be making a strategic mistake."

　　With the rise of Chinese home furnishing brands, whether it is the leading home furnishing companies that have already been listed, such as Oupai, Sophia, Gujia, and Minhua, or the giants in the field of home furnishing circulation such as Easyhome, Red Star Macalline, Fussenmei, or Lin's Emerging Internet home furnishing brands such as Muye and Genji Muyu are all in the process of rapid development, forming a diversion of the IKEA market.

　　"IKEA throwing 5.3 billion yuan seems a lot, but it is still difficult to set off a big wave in China's nearly 5 trillion home furnishing market." Wang Jianguo said, "Whether IKEA consumers can come back depends on strategy, brand, marketing and service. Whether it can prevail, the possibility of the future is very small.”