IKEA Group, the world's biggest furniture retailer, said on December 10 that its annual profits grew as it expanded into China, increased sales from existing stores and saw strong online growth. Net profit at the Swedish self-assembly budget furniture chain, which generates the bulk of its revenue in Europe, was up 5.5 percent to 3.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in the 12 months through to the end of August 2015.
Sales reached a record 31.9 billion euros with comparable sales growth also strong at 5 percent.
"It was a very good year for bedrooms - for new products but also for old workhorses such as the Sultan and Malm (beds and storage). That drove growth last year, really, and landed us a very strong result" Agnefjall told Reuters.
IKEA said it cut prices to customers, offsetting the cuts with lower purchase prices and better supply chain efficiency.
The firm, which owns most IKEA stores, said Germany showed record growth while the United States, which is now neck-and-neck with Germany as IKEA's biggest single market, continued to do well.
China was IKEA's fastest-growing market with 19 percent sales growth including three new stores.