IKEA Group has confirmed it is working on plans to significantly expand its residential solar offer into a host of new markets, as it looks to further accelerate the roll out of clean technologies to its customers.
Reports late last month from PV Magazine suggested the retail giant was planning to begin offering residential solar arrays from its stores and through its web portal in nine countries during this financial year, following a trial in UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
"Ikea's ambition is to help and inspire their customers to live a more sustainable life at home and the residential solar program is one step on the way to reach that ambition," the magazine quoted Håkan Nordkvist, head of sustainability innovation at Ikea, as saying. "Last year there were 770 million visits to Ikea stores worldwide and the company sees that as a great platform to fulfill our ambition and for people to be able to live a more sustainable life at home."
Nordkvist also revealed the company would work closely with suppliers to push down solar technology costs.
"To be able to deploy residential solar in a big scale we need to have a very simple and transparent purchase process for the customer and the offer needs to be very affordable, this is what our customers normally get when they visit Ikea and this is what we will continue to have, including the residential solar offer," he said.
A spokeswoman for IKEA confirmed to BusinessGreen the company was working on plans to expand its solar offering.
"Offering solutions for residential solar is part of IKEA Group's sustainability strategy and we have successfully rolled out a pilot offer to stores in three markets; the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom," she said via email. "During 2015 we evaluated the pilot and decided on a new business model, offering an expanded range of technologies and a more integrated sales model. In the process we also researched the market to identify suppliers that can provide the most competitive offer for our customers."
The UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland, are now implementing this new business model and IKEA said that "over the coming months" it will begin a roll out to more countries. "Details of countries in scope of the roll out will be communicated during spring/summer 2016," the spokeswoman added.
The move comes after IKEA in the UK last year decided not to renew its contract with Hanergy Solar UK, the subsidiary of embattled Chinese solar giant Hanergy which had partnered with IKEA to sell its panels in the retailer's stores as part of its initial trial. (BusinessGreen)