MANILA, Philippines — Apart from anticipating sales events and looking for signs of marked down prices, there is another way to get the most savings when shopping in an Ikea store.
Ikea Philippines, local franchise of the Swedish lifestyle label, recently revealed the particular area in their store where one can get the most savings.
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Just across the checkout counters in the brand’s Pasay City flagship store is a corner called “As Is” where the brand implements its zero-waste program by selling the brand’s damaged or repaired products that are still usable.
Some of the products in the “As Is” area include home accessories and pieces of furniture that have been previously damaged but have been remodeled by the brand to become usable. Their prices, however, are now much less than the original even after they have been repaired.
Because of the repairs, some of the pieces in “As Is” have become unique or one-of-a-kind and different from the ones of their same kind when they first hit the racks in the regular selling areas.
The products can be arranged with the store for delivery, or disassembled for easier transport. According to the brand, starting 2030, all their products will be redesigned to become easily reassembled. They are also expanding the disassembling area of their Pasay City store.
Apart from selling repaired or slightly damaged, discounted products, “As Is” is also where customers can ask for bolts, nuts and screws for free should they need some to repair their own furniture at home.
Instead of throwing away an Ikea item or furniture, the brand encourages customers to bring the item back to them for recycling or to give it a new life and have a chance to be resold in “As Is.”
The brand uses mostly bamboo in its products since bamboo grows faster than wood.
Beside “As Is” is the brand’s alteration area run by social enterprise Rags2Riches, which has so far reportedly recycled 4,000 kilos of Ikea fabrics and has generated P7 million in revenues from the Swedish brand, reportedly directly benefiting 250 families.