After a long run lasting more than 70 years, Ikea stops publishing its catalog in print.
The decision to stop publishing the IKEA catalog comes as a historical reflection and a sudden sign of the times. Readers of catalogs and print products are on the decline, and companies are increasingly turning to digital.
Sic transit gloria mundi
The IKEA catalog will no longer be printed. It's the thud of a huge iceberg, the equivalent of Warner Bros' recent choice to send all his movies in streaming, and not before in the hall.
After initially resisting online shopping, the company founded by Ingvar Kamprad was "forced" to welcome it during the pandemic.
An impediment that has become an advantage, it seems.
Ikea says its online retail sales have increased 45% worldwide last year with ikea.com which he recorded four billion visits. The company has also enhanced its suite of apps by opening smaller stores located in urban centers to reach the people where they live.
IKEA catalog: the fall of the Gods
In terms of the message to print, the decision to "close" the IKEA Catalog in paper form is gigantic.
At its peak in 2016, the IKEA catalog was distributed in 200 million copies and in 32 different languages.
It is, in fact, the largest publication in the world by volume, born in 1951. The IKEA catalog has several printed copies of the Bible, or the Koran.
Applause for the trees, a little relief, and despair for the supporters of the paper, a support destined to be further reduced.
A final farewell
"For 70 years the IKEA catalog has been one of our most unique and iconic products, inspiring billions of people around the world," he says Konrad Grüss, managing director of Inter IKEA Systems BV.
Media consumption and customer behavior have changed, and Ikea is already increasing digital investments while volumes and interest in the IKEA catalog have decreased
Konrad Grüss, managing director of Inter IKEA Systems BV.
The company says it will commemorate the catalog with a book launch in the fall of 2021.
Another piece of history that goes away.
On a display.
