Swedish furniture business Ikea has committed to invest further into smart home products and has spun off the Ikea Home smart project team into a dedicated business unit within Ikea Sweden.
Ikea Home Smart was initially conceived in 2012 in order to integrate new, smart technologies into Ikea products, such as wireless charging, smart lighting, as well as smart speakers made in collaboration with Sonos.
“At Ikea we want to continue to offer products for a better life at home for the many people going forward. In order to do so we need to explore products and solutions beyond conventional home furnishing,” said Björn Block, head of the new Ikea Home smart business unit.
“By working together will all other departments within Ikea, the business unit of Ikea Home smart will drive the digital transformation of the Ikea range, improving and transforming existing businesses and developing new businesses to bring more diverse smart products to the many people.
“We are just getting started.”
According to Ikea’s range and supply manager Peter van der Poel, this is the biggest new business the brand has established since the introduction of Children’s Ikea.
In June, Ikea renamed its smart eco-system control app TRÅDFRI to Ikea Home Smart app, saying the name change signaled a shift in direction for the business.
“We started out our journey within the smart home with our smart lighting range TRÅDFRI where we also named the steering app with the same name,” Black said.
“Now, moving into the next step we want to simplify [the eco-system]. We want to make it possible for you to steer all your smart products in the same app, also making it possible for you to steer all your smart products in the same app.”