IKEA is increasingly becoming a knick-knack shop

Since I have been regularly shopping for my/our stuff at Ikea for over 20 years, I actually dare to claim that IKEA is increasingly losing sight of its core business and is gradually putting knick-knacks and gimmicks in the foreground.

Of course, sometimes you want to buy something decorative for your home. But in the past, I increasingly see people in front of me at the checkout placing lots of small individual items worth just under a hundred euros or more from their shopping bags onto the belt.

Furthermore, I have noticed that the product lines are becoming more and more opaque and increasingly difficult to combine.

I can only say that my 15-year-old and 4-times moved 2 meter Pax are still in great shape. The additional 3 meters that have been added over the years now have some dents on a few edges, hinges had to be replaced, and one Pax back panel failed. The old 2 meters, on the other hand, still look like new...

The same goes for the Faktum kitchen. Faktum was great and still is.
In addition to the now 4-year-old Faktum kitchen, I bought a 2.2-meter-tall Metod cabinet for the opposite kitchen wall last year.

Despite heavy use and 2 lively children, Faktum still looks like new today. Even the fronts are still presentable because they are very robust.

Unfortunately, Metod is not as durable. It has barely been a year and there are already deep dents on the fronts from normal kitchen activities (same look and price range as back then with the Faktum kitchen). The side walls already show significant wear inside (e.g., from pots or similar).

There are 2.5 meter Stuva cabinets in both children's rooms. I am positively surprised by the quality of the materials and surfaces. However, I regularly have to replace the hinges on these things because after some time, due to those soft-closing mechanisms, they no longer want to close properly...

Recently, I supplemented our 6-year-old Liatorp combination with another bookshelf. Let’s see what insights the new piece will bring...

At least as far as kitchens are concerned, I cannot understand that for myself. And I know both systems well. For me, they are qualitatively - as far as can be said so far - equivalent. However, Metod is, for various reasons, the kitchen-wise clearly better system.

I would say that it is a very clever business model if people constantly pick up "small stuff" around 100 euros. I don't understand your criticism of it? IKEA operates primarily for profit like any other store. Where does it say that furniture is the core business?

Regarding the declining quality, I have very mixed impressions. But that also has a lot to do with the throwaway mentality and the desire to always get everything cheaper. It is absurd that people sometimes even get upset if a wardrobe costs more than 200 euros... to meet these needs, only chipboard and the like can be used. And there are a lot of freedoms and combination possibilities with many pieces of furniture, which you hardly find anywhere else, especially not at that price. ;)

I also have a different opinion about the kitchen systems. I too consider Metod the better system for various reasons. Regarding quality in general: yes and no. The problem is (and of course every user here is different) that people in this country want Porsche quality at Trabant prices in almost every area of consumption. And that simply doesn't work. If you complain about quality, you can only do so if you relate it to the price. Quality costs money, and that's true for IKEA as well. There are things I would buy with the thought "you spend little here and if you move, you just throw it away." And there are things I want to keep longer, and for that I have to spend a bit more money. Of course, there are also products at IKEA that are simply rubbish, but I wouldn't generalize that across the board. Especially since there is a relatively high standard and demand for quality, with corresponding self-monitoring. There is a dedicated department responsible only for that... "KrimsKrams." Well, I could tell you something about the number of item numbers that contradict what you say, as they have actually even decreased recently. ;) But you must not forget that there are enough people who go to IKEA just for that, just like for hot dogs or cheap coffee. And since IKEA makes a significant part of its revenue with the "small stuff," they can't be that wrong... ;)

Isn't it even 40% of the revenue just from knickknacks? If candles are being bought like crazy, then a bad businessman would be one who doesn't meet the demands. I cannot understand why so many dust collectors are bought. You probably have to be a woman for that.

Well... :rolleyes: So I bought candles there once, but for example lots of kitchen gadget stuff, bathroom stuff, or for storing things - many things are just super practical small items. And yes, actually I only wanted to have lunch there. Now I prefer to do that at IKEA Lichtenberg, because at least there I can get out immediately without having to go through the disastrous "small stuff" departments. ;)