Czech IKEA is more expensive than its neighbors. In Germany the same sofa costs 16 thousand less

Germany’s IKEA is on average 11% cheaper than the Czech one, with customers experiencing the most significant price difference in products related to washing and cleaning, or about twenty percent. It’s not just washers and dryers, but a whole range of cleaning accessories and tools.

The higher price level permeates almost the entire store. During the Czech-German confrontation, the E15 newspaper found 17,380 identical products in 18 categories, of which only two did not match the big picture: Kitchen & Tableware and the Summer category. However, the number of items in this “cheapest shopping cart” is almost negligible. There are 668 products, which is less than four percent of all products.

How is this possible when the average salary in Germany exceeds one hundred thousand crowns and the products come from the same supplier? There are multiple factors depending on the retail chain.

“We take local costs and other influences into account. The final prices therefore reflect, for example, local energy prices, transport, inflation or the exchange rate and also depend on the quantity of products sold on a given market The consequence of all these factors is that prices in different countries may differ,” explains Marek Vomočil, spokesperson for IKEA Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

Cyrrus analyst Vít Hradil, however, sees the root cause elsewhere. “Cost differences – although they exist too – have a rather smaller share in the final price differences for customers. Most of it is therefore due to the willingness of buyers in some countries to pay more,” says Hradil, adding that the less competitive environment on the Czech market goes hand in hand with this.

For example, a KIVIK four-seater sofa with chaise longue costs 1,649 euros in a German store, which translates to around 40,000 kroner. In the Czech Republic, applicants have to pay around 16,000 extra. This is the largest absolute price difference between the Czech and German markets. Czech lovers of Swedish furniture design will pay relatively more for the black support leg for the bed. A product labeled SULTAN will cost 300 crowns in the Czech Republic, 40% more than in Germany.

Czech IKEA did not comment further on the specific price differences, stating only that its long-term strategy is to offer products at the most affordable prices. At the same time, he indicated that prices will generally rise next year as well, taking into account rising inflation.

“In the long run, we continually try to look for ways to reduce prices where possible. For example, we recently discounted some of our best-selling products: KALLAX shelves, BRIMNES and SONGESAND chests of drawers,” says Vomočil. “However, we are not immune from the ever-increasing costs that are reflected in the final prices. Therefore, we cannot rule out that we will have to adjust some prices in the opposite direction due to the never-ending increase in costs and other economic challenges,” Vomočil added.

While most products in the Czech Republic are more expensive than in Germany, there are exceptions. The most noticeable difference is with the EKEDALEN / BERNHARD oak table, which costs around 18,000 kroner in the Czech Republic, which is about 45% cheaper than in Germany.

As expected, the comparison with Poland is even sharper. None of the 18 product categories was more expensive than in the Czech Republic, and on average the customer pays 20% less.

The analysis is based on data provided in IKEA online stores for the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland, comparing the prices of more than 20,000 products between 16 and 18 December. The price tags in IKEA e-shops are identical to those in physical stores, in every single country.

Currently, IKEA has four department stores, nine physical outlets and 14 mobile outlets in the Czech Republic. In the past financial year, which ended last year on August 31, its sales in the Czech Republic decreased by 7.5 percent year-on-year at SEK 9.7 billion. The company has not yet published the economic result for the same period. A year earlier, Czech IKEA was earning 1.1 billion crowns.

How inflation is calculated and what you will find in the consumption basket: