Ikea is deleting hundreds of products from its range - what will become of Billy, Lack and Kleppan?

The furniture giant Ikea is drastically reducing its range.

Almost 600 articles are to be deleted soon.

The reason for this is probably in China.

Munich - Furniture giant Ikea is planning to significantly reduce its range in the coming financial year. According to a spokeswoman for the group, “a reduction in the entire product range in Europe by around five percent and in North America by around four percent” is planned. Ikea does not give any exact figures,

but according to

an assessment by

, this means a reduction of almost 600 items. The current range has an estimated number of over 12,000 products.

The reason: The furnishing and furniture industry is also affected by the current supply and raw material difficulties.

According to Ikea, “Restrictions on the flow of goods from Asia with a simultaneous increase in furniture demand” are responsible for the reduction in the range.

In the pandemic, people would have devoted more and more to the conversion, renovation and redesign of their home.

This has led to "increased and consistently high demand," as the company announced.

At the same time, the group is facing major challenges in dealing with the disrupted supply chains and container capacities.

Ikea: prevent empty shelves

The main reason for this is the temporary closure of one of the largest cargo ports in the world. In May 2021, the Chinese * port "Yantian" was temporarily shut down due to a Corona * outbreak. Experts see this as having a greater impact on international trade than the recent blockade of the Suez Canal by the cargo ship "Ever Given". At the same time, the prices for raw materials exploded. The furniture retailer Ikea is likely to be hit hard by the sharp rise in the price of wood.

The range reduction should therefore prevent the problem that customers could stand in front of empty shelves.

The reduction is aimed at higher product availability.

This should apply to furniture stores as well as online retail.

According to

, Ikea wants to concentrate on the most important products and product ranges and "prioritize" them.

The group left open which products were not used.

The measures are scheduled for the 2022 financial year.

Empty shelves: discounters and drugstores are also affected

Not only Ikea is affected by delivery problems and a shortage of raw materials. The headlines recently made empty shelves at discounters and drugstores in the Rhine-Main area. In addition to the container and corona crisis, the effects of the flood disaster are also noticeable here. Large warehouses were flooded and important infrastructure was destroyed. Here, too, it is uncertain when the situation will normalize again. * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN-MEDIA.