Flat-pack world: China and Russia are Ikea's fastest growing market as global sales rise to HK$281 billion

The Billy bookcase, Poäng chair and Bumerang coathanger continue to spread relentlessly around the world, as Ikea unveiled another year of rising sales.

The Swedish company said it had rung up sales of €32 billion (HK$281 billion) in the year to the end of August, another step towards its goal of hitting €50 billion by 2020. Sales were up 5 per cent on the previous year in comparable stores.

Getting lost in Ikea’s maze-like stores or struggling to put together a flatpack table are becoming common experiences around the world: Ikea has 328 stores across 28 countries, with Croatia joining the list in 2014.

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The company, which has three stores in Hong Kong, estimates it had 771 million global visits during its latest financial year.

China, home to eight of Ikea’s 10 largest stores, remains the company’s fastest-growing market, as continued mass migration into cities helps create a middle class with money to spend. In 2014, Ikea opened a second store in Beijing and a new shop in Chongqing, a city of 10 million people.

Russia, where the Swedish company spent years fighting corruption, is Ikea’s second fastest-growing market. Ikea’s performance in Russia was boosted by its Mega shopping centres, a chain of 14 complexes from St Petersburg to Novosibirsk.

Ikea reported that Germany also experienced record growth, while North America performed well. In southern Europe there was “positive progress”, amid an upturn in economic growth in Spain and Italy, despite persistent youth unemployment .