Hej from our CEO, Lars Thorsén
2025 turned out to be yet another year shaped by uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, economic shifts, and the growing urgency of climate change. We have continued to adapt our business to a changing world, and we find strength in being a focused and entrepreneurial organisation. Our engaged co-workers help us act quickly, make informed decisions and adjust as conditions evolve. This ability to adapt helps stay relevant and responsive to changing customer needs.
We are currently right in the middle of our current strategy period, focusing on integrating business goals and sustainability ambitions and we can see that all our businesses are making significant progress towards their 2027 goals.
Ikano Bostad has reviewed their strategy and took a strategic decision to keep a steady project development in Sweden, and to grow the rental portfolio in both Sweden and Denmark. In accordance with this, they acquired 300 rental apartments in Gothenburg. They have also invested SEK 50 million in energy optimisation measures, including solar panels, geothermal heating and ventilation heat recovery, helping them more than reach their goals.
Ikano Industry continued on their journey towards a more sustainable mattress production and together with their partner RetourMatras, they recycled close to 2 million mattresses, and expanded RetourMatras to France. The have also expanded their RePoliol production to Mexico, and in a joint project with IKEA, they’re testing hemp fibres in search for more sustainable materials.
Ikano Retail opened two smaller Customer Meeting Points, IKEA Chiang Mai in Thailand, and IKEA Quezon City in The Philippines, reaching even more of the many. IKEA Pasay City, also in The Philippines, won the prestigious IKEA store of the year award, in competition with IKEA stores all around the world. This only proves what we knew all along, it’s a fantastic store with many engaged co-workers, our biggest IKEA restaurant and many happy customers. A very well-deserved win!
A fire on the roof of a large IKEA distribution centre in Joliet, USA, led to the largest claim ever faced by our reinsurance, Ikano Re. The solar panels were most likely the cause of the fire, which spread quickly and was at one point fought by 81 fire fighters on the scene. Fortunately, all employees were able to evacuate safely. Ikano Re was also impacted by the wildfires in California in January, although no IKEA stores were impacted. Ikano Re also provides reinsurance for natural disasters that are unrelated to IKEA, and as a result, received some claims stemming from this wildfire.
Ikano Insight continued with their transformation, as a response to the change in CSRD requirements and legislation. Their Area Prioritisation Engine was successfully launched to new customers, including IKEA Thailand and IKEA UK. However, Ikano Insight has faced financial challenges for some time, and is unlikely to become financially sustainable in the long term. Therefore the decision has been made to close the business in 2026.
It’s been another tough year in many ways. The world never ceases to surprise us with new conflicts and challenges, but despite it all, we’ve achieved a good result thanks to our engaged, hard-working co-workers and our can-do spirit. Let’s see what the new year has to offer, making predictions in today’s world seems like an impossible feat. But regardless, I know that Ikano is ready to take on every challenge and opportunity that will come our way!
Thank you for your commitment and great efforts in 2025.
Kind regards,
Lars