IKEA Narrows Down The Competition After TaskRabbit Acquisition, Company Says

Two years after buying the service app TaskRabbit, it looks like IKEA is finally seeing the fruits of TaskRabbit’s labor. According to company numbers, the use of handymen for the assemblage of IKEA products almost doubled since the furniture retailer first bought the company.

IKEA reported a 2 percent uptick in services rendered by workers for furniture assemblage, rounding it out to a solid 10 percent of tasks performed by the app-based company.

TaskRabbit, an app that offers users the ability to hire workers for errand-based assignments, was purchased by IKEA in 2017 in an effort to bolster after-sale services.

The new numbers are a good sign for IKEA. While Statista ranks the Sweden-based company as the world’s largest furniture retailer, the emergence of online and app-based stores like Wayfair have become a growing concern.

Chief executive Jesper Brodin of Inkga Group, which owns the majority of IKEA stores, was quick to praise the results garnered by TaskRabbit acquisition, as well as contemplate what it means for the company’s future and what it can offer customers.

"As this community grows it's not only about fixing one or two things but actually to add professionalism in interior decoration, into ‘life at home’ practicalities," Brodin told Reuters.

He also stated that the company is looking to expand into the realm of interior design. In addition to this, TaskRabbit CEO Stacey Brown-Philpot announced a roll out for a same-day delivery and assembly package spear-headed by the San Francisco-based app service.

"TaskRabbit is a super interesting business case because it is scalable, not only geographically but also into services at home," Brodin added.

The retail furniture giant has other focuses beyond the TaskRabbit acquisition. IKEA CEO Torbjorn Loof told the Financial Times that the company is planning to roll out "scalable subscription services" for furniture rentals in an effort to become the self-professed "Netflix of furniture."

"We will work together with partners so you can actually lease your furniture," Loof said at the time. “When that leasing period is over, you hand it back and you might lease something else. And instead of throwing those away, we refurbish them a little and we could sell them, prolonging the life cycle of the products."