Inter Ikea Systems BV

Ikea is entering new territory.   The retailer will open a store on Oct. 11, in Fishers, Indiana. It will be Swedish company’s first location in Indiana, 45th in the United States, and 408th worldwide.    The 289,000-sq.-ft. Ikea includes one of Indiana’s largest solar rooftops, as well as three electric vehicle charging stations. Ninety percent of Ikea U.S. stores have a solar presence.   

The acquisition of TaskRabbit allows Ikea to efficiently remove one key barrier (the dislike of furniture assembly) for a segment of customers that have until this point avoided Ikea.  

Ikea Group has entered the booming market for on-demand services.      The home furnishings giant is acquiring TaskRabbit, an on-demand services platform company that connects customers with workers, called "taskers," that handle everyday needs such as furniture assembly, moving and packing, general handyman repairs, and home improvements. The price of the transaction was not revealed.  

Ikea is looking to expand its presence in Arizona.    The home furnishings retailer plans to open a store in Glendale, Arizona. It would be the company's second location in the state.  

If you’re not in gaming or medical arts, virtual reality is likely to be one of those items that sits on your to-do list, but is not likely to be near the top. It’s one of those items for which many a business person elects late-adopter status: Let the tech geeks and early adopters figure it all out and then I’ll jump in when it becomes relevant to me.  

Ikea is allowing its shoppers to virtually test drive merchandise before making a purchase.   The home furnishings giant is preparing to launch a new augmented reality (AR) app. Called Ikea Place, the app allows customers to virtually place furniture in any space in their home, office, school or studio — and share the images.    The app, which will be supported by Apple’s iOS 11 platform, will launch in late September.  

The import tax proposal has officially been removed from the tax reform plan — which is welcome news for retailers across the industry.   On Thursday, congressional and administration leaders announced they would remove the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) from consideration, and announced an outline for comprehensive tax reform. The BAT provision would have ended importers’ ability to deduct the cost of merchandise purchased from other countries.   

A wholesale club giant beats out specialty retailers to rank as the nation's favorite home furnishings retailer.    Costco Wholesale Corp. is ranks first among consumers when it comes to home furnishings, according to a study by Market Force Information. With a composite loyalty score of 72%, Costco earned the top spot. But Ikea was a close second, with a score of 70%.