IKEA has announced plans to start renting its furniture, as part of a move towards a circular economy that includes refurbishing and re-selling products.
The trial furniture rental scheme, due to begin in Switzerland imminently, will initially be limited to office furniture such as desks and chairs.
"We see big potential in inspiring and enabling consumers to play an active role in making the circular economy a reality, and we can facilitate that by developing new business models in relation to how they acquire, care for and pass on products," explained an IKEA spokesperson.
"In certain markets, such as Switzerland, we're exploring and testing potential solutions, designing relevant offers and then testing them with customers. However nothing is up and running at the moment," they told Dezeen. IKEA may rent kitchens in the future
Although the trial will only include office furniture at this point, IKEA hasn't ruled out leasing rather than selling kitchens and other products in future.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Inter IKEA chief executive Torbjorn Loof said: "You could say leasing is another way of financing a kitchen."
"When this circular model is up and running, we have a much bigger interest in not just selling a product but seeing what happens with it and that the consumer takes care of it."
IKEA recently opened its most sustainable store in London's Greenwich
When questioned by Dezeen, IKEA wouldn't say whether the trial re...