February the 14th, 2022 - IKEA Zagreb was a huge hit when it first arrived in the Croatian capital, more precisely on the outskirts of it in Rugvica. It seems however that for the past few months, many customers have been noticing a lack of items on the shelves and an increase in the prices. Just what's going on there?

As Novac/Jutarnji/Ana Franic/SD writes, the Swedish brand IKEA arrived in Croatia back in 2014, taking up home on the outskirts of the capital, and since then it has delighted most people with its proximity, ease of purchase, decent prices and delivery.

Those of us who live in Croatia had fallen in love with this gigantic Swedish store's extensive and fairly prices offer much earlier, but it was necessary to cross the border before it arrived in Zagreb. Simple but modern furniture at relatively low prices and all sorts of little things for the house are an assortment that is both necessary and irresistible.

When IKEA Zagreb opened its doors, many Dalmatians made a ''pilgrimage'' of sorts to this huge department store and regularly received a list of products from family and friends with which to return home from shopping, writes Slobodna Dalmacija.

People outside of Zagreb eagerly waited for their purchases to arrive and in those years, suppliers who transported IKEA Zagreb goods to destinations throughout the resr of Croatia also made some very good money. Dalmatians were even more relieved back in 2017 when a delivery centre was opened in Split. In just a few clicks, fans of the Swedish brand could get their hands on their favourite things, and to add to that - delivery was made entirely free.

However, over more recent months, loyal IKEA Zagreb customers have noticed an increase in prices, but also the fact that a lot of products are not in stock at the Zagreb department store at all anymore.

''My apartment is like from the IKEA catalog. Everything I need for the house, whether it is furniture, utensils or decorations, I find and purchase with them. Everything is reasonably priced, but the quality is far from lacking. As I'm a big fan of IKEA, lately I've noticed that some of their products have become more expensive, but also that a lot of what they sold is not available,'' one woman from Split said, adding that she's not sure if those issues are due to coronavirus or something else.

''For example, I recently looked for an extra bed, but none of those that caught my eye were available. At first it meant nothing to me, until I continued to search for the products I needed. Baskets were also not available, nor were their scented candles, nor were part of their range of kitchen utensils,'' she went on to explain.

She's not the only one, either. After all, it's enough to look at the offer on the IKEA Zagreb website and notice that a lot of products are in the "red", that is, that they aren't in stock. Private renters are most affected by this, hoping that before the tourist season stocks will be restored and that they will be able to equip their rental apartments on time.

What exactly is happening with the IKEA Zagreb product offer and whether there has been an increase in prices?

''We'd like to point out that we continue to invest a lot of effort to keep our prices as low and stable as possible. However, the current situation with international trade and restrictions on raw materials affects all industries around the world, and IKEA is no exception. Procurement and transport costs are rising after the disruption in logistics, and the growth of raw material prices is at such a level that we couldn't avoid the increase in retail prices for many of our products,'' they explained from IKEA.

They added that some of their prices in their portfolio have been increased to reflect the current rising raw material and supply chain prices, adding that the prices of many of their products have remained the same, and some have even been reduced.

''The increase in prices of individual products ranged from a few percentage points to a low double-digit percentage, while the average price increase in Croatia was 9 percent,'' they explained. When it comes to the supply and availability of their products, they said that since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been an increase in demand for their products because, as they say, people want to improve their lives at home as they were spending much more time within their four walls pre-vaccine.

''But during the last year of the pandemic, the global situation with the capacity of ocean traffic has created challenges for all companies dependent on it, including the business of IKEA. Continuous disturbances, port congestion and historically high demand have created an imbalance in the overall ocean freight market, resulting in limitations in our business. IKEA is closely monitoring the development of this situation across all fields so that it can adequately respond to all challenges. We prioritise our range to ensure that IKEA products, which our customers love and need the most, are available online and in our department stores. We want to thank our customers for understanding that not all products may be available at this time, and we'll certainly continue to take further action to increase product availability and provide customers with an even better IKEA experience,'' they concluded from IKEA Zagreb.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

IKEA Croatia will continue to monitor the unfolding coronavirus situation in the country and support those in need, including their own employees, the community, customers and all of their partners.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of April, 2020, IKEA and of course IKEA Croatia's vision has always been to create a better everyday living situation for as many people as possible. In this emergency, IKEA Croatia wants to continue living with this particular vision more than ever before, and as such has taken steps to ensure continued support for its employees and the wider community.

Although the Zagreb-based department store and the five IKEA Croatia delivery centres (located in Dubrovnik, Osijek, Rijeka, Split and Zadar) remain closed, IKEA Croatia recently announced that it will guarantee jobs and 100 percent income for all of its 611 employees as long as government measures remain in place.

IKEA Croatia will also ensure additional benefits to its employees who continue to ensure that IKEA's home furnishing solutions continue to be available online and with the availability of contactless home delivery during these times. IKEA has made sure that their employees get to work in an environment that is organised in accordance with strict safety measures, with appropriate protective equipment and in full compliance with the recommendations for social distancing.

"Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, we at IKEA Croatia have done our best to respond to the needs of as many people as possible. Although our business was strongly influenced by the current situation, we wanted to do everything possible to protect the lives of our employees while maintaining business continuity throughout this extraordinary period. Our absolute priority is to protect our employees for the remainder of this crisis and to allow for as many of them as possible to work full time,'' said Nikolaos Migkianis, Director of IKEA Zagreb.

The huge Swedish company has stepped up its crisis response efforts, allocating more than 1.5 million kuna in product donations to the Croatian healthcare system and other community support. In partnership with the Red Cross and various government institutions, IKEA provided assistance to COVID-19 patients, medical professionals and members of vulnerable communities, including donations of mattresses, textiles, food and other products.

Make sure to follow our business page for more. Follow our dedicated section for rolling information on coronavirus in Croatia.

LED bulbs continue to be the best selling item in the huge Ikea department store in Rugvica near the City of Zagreb.

As Marta Duic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of August, 2019, the incredibly popular Ikea department store located in Rugvica near the Croatian capital of Zagreb marked its fifth anniversary of business operations in Croatia on Wednesday.

During this five year period, the department store in Rugvica, just east of Zagreb, was visited by more than 8.5 million customers, their website had 28 million visitors, almost 139,000 children played in their playroom, and almost 105,000 people participated in various workshops organised by Ikea.

Among the best-selling products in the Republic of Croatia are LED bulbs, with as many as 1,331,916 various types having been sold, saving Croatia's residents about 800 million kWh, or almost 350 million kuna in total.

More than 292,000 members are involved in the Ikea Family loyalty program. In the first year of business operations in Croatia, the Croatian subsidiary of the globally present Swedish chain was selected as the best employer among large companies by an independent survey of the equally popular Moj Posao (My Job) portal, while in 2016 and 2017, it remained among the top three in the whole country.

Since Ikea's popularity skyrocketed and its delivery centres have opened in Rijeka, Split and Osijek, since February this year, a fourth centre has been operating all the way down in the extreme south of Dalmatia, more precisely in Dubrovnik.

The enormous company, according to their anniversary announcement, cares greatly for gender equality, and more than half of Ikea Croatia's executives are women, and in partnership with company partners, they have formed an alliance for gender equality.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for more information on Ikea's operations and delivery centres in Croatia, foreign and domestic companies in Croatia, and much more.

The wildly popular IKEA Croatia continues to operate well.

The amount includes just the LED bulbs bought at IKEA.

IKEA had 1.7 million customers in the third year of operations in Croatia.

It's finally here!

Marking the anniversary, IKEA has published statistics for the past three years.

Good news for IKEA’s customers from Rijeka and surrounding areas.

The Split IKEA will open this August in an annex type space at City Center One.