Ikea Canada has taken the wraps off Ikea Office, a new division providing office furniture solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses.

The development of the Ikea Office concept began seven years ago and for the past year has been in test mode.

Ikea has been carrying office furniture since the 1970s but purchases have been largely for home use.

Peter Keerberg of Burlington, Ont.-based Ikea says that changes in the marketplace made it the right time to begin targeting the business market.

‘If you look into trends in office furniture, designs are getting more humanistic and more like home furniture designs,’ say Keerberg.

As well, he says, many companies are interested in Ikea’s reasonably priced furniture because they want to reduce their costs.

‘If you look at the office furniture market, you have the lower end, discounters like Business Depot and at the higher end, companies like Steelcase,’ says Keerberg.

‘Ikea will fit quite well between these two ends of the market, offering well-designed furniture with low cost and good service,’ he says.

Keerberg worked on the development of the Ikea Office concept when he first joined Ikea in Sweden seven years ago, and has followed its evolution from idea to launch.

He moved to Canada as the company’s manager of kitchens a year ago and has since added the business division to his responsibilities.

The office furniture side of Ikea worldwide has been growing at a pace far exceeding the growth of the regular Ikea business and Keerberg predicts that, in Canada, the balance of office furniture sales will migrate from home office to commercial, and eventually account for 80% of office furniture sales.

‘We suddenly have interest from customers asking us to design from 10 to 25 workstations for them,’ says Keerberg. ‘That’s something that didn’t happen previously.’

Ikea Office is being launched with a print and direct marketing campaign from Ammirati Puris Lintas of Toronto, which also handles the Ikea Family loyalty program.

The magazine and newspaper ads focus on the key benefits of Ikea Office – product, service and price – and feature a 1-800 number that customers can call for a free 84-page Ikea Office catalogue.

Susan McGibbon, Ikea advertising manager, says the strategy behind the campaign is to build trust, credibility and awareness of Ikea as a business furniture company.

She says this is being accomplished through testimonial advertising, with the first of four executions Frank Wennberg, president and ceo of Volvo subsidiary, Olofstrom Automation. The ad begins: ‘Why Volvo trusted their new headquarters to an outfit better known for pillowcases and ballrooms.’

The product offering of Ikea Office today is much different from the desks and storage units offered in the early years of Ikea, in terms of style and quality, says Keerberg.

Two years ago, he says, the company purchased Sweden’s second largest office furniture manufacturer and, in addition to experience and production facilities, also acquired an excellent range of furniture designs.

Ikea Office showcases four product lines, with Effektiv being the best-selling office furniture series and one of the top-selling Ikea brands overall.

Keerberg says Effektiv, available in either melamine or wood surfaces, is the most flexible and functional of the four systems and offers unlimited configuration possibilities. It consists of 17 different table tops that can be supported by a straight- or T-leg system. The storage units are like building blocks and can be stacked to any height needed.

A 100% wood line called Karaktar is less flexible and designed for upper-management offices.

Nordisk is Ikea’s Scandinavian/ modern line. It has won design awards in Sweden and is available in light birch wood only.

Kontor is the entry-level series which is made only with melamine finishes.

Keerberg says it’s not just the product offering that makes Ikea Office different – it’s the level of service provided as well.

Each store will offer design services and computer-aided office planning. Also, field representatives will pay calls to potential customers.

All showrooms in Ikea’s seven Canadian stores are being remodeled to provide a separate space for Ikea Office. This includes extensive renovation in the case of the Vancouver store, where an addition is being built.

In Burlington, Ikea customers will view the huge Ikea Office showroom on the main floor before reaching home furnishings on the second floor.

Given the growth of the office market, Keerberg says there is the possibility of opening separate Ikea Office stores.

‘The idea has been on our mind, but we will probably stay on this track for at least a couple of years.’