In April this year, IKEA Retail Poland completed its tender for corporate PR services, including external and internal communications as well as Public Affairs. The winning agency was Walk PR, which has been working with IKEA since May 2022.
IKEA Retail Sp. z o.o. announced the tender at the end of 2021 and invited 13 agencies to take part. For the second stage, it selected the following firms: Havas PR Warsaw, Inntu, Łukaszewicz, Secgen together with LoveBrands, StrategyWise and Walk PR. Their task was to prepare responses to three competition questions covering corporate communications, crisis communications and Public Affairs.
Ultimately, after presenting their offers and holding direct talks, the tender was won by Walk PR, which best prepared the competition tasks and captured IKEA's philosophy.
“Walk PR's philosophy fits with our business ethics. During the competition we identified many points of convergence and shared values, which provides a good basis for understanding each other's needs and the direction of development. As IKEA, we value long-term cooperation, but we also appreciate a fresh perspective and are open to new, diverse experiences. We also appreciate the fact that Walk PR will help us strengthen our competences in the area of Public Affairs,” says Anita Ryng, Communications Director at IKEA Retail in Poland.
The other agencies – as in previous tenders – will receive from IKEA the previously proposed financial remuneration in thanks for their time and completion of the competition tasks. Cooperation with the incumbent agency Havas PR will end on 31 May 2022. IKEA's product communications will continue to be handled by the agency Garden of Words.
About IKEA
IKEA has awarded its PR tender — why was Walk PR chosen?
The brand name IKEA is an acronym – formed from the initial letters of the founder's first and last name and the names of the farm and parish he came from (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd).
IKEA's vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. We offer functional and well-designed home furnishing items that combine quality and affordable prices. We operate in line with sustainable development, implementing the People & Planet Positive strategy.
The Ingka Group* in Poland currently has 11 IKEA stores, 88 IKEA Order Collection Points (including Mobile Points) and 8 IKEA Planning Studios, which are managed by IKEA Retail. It also owns five shopping centres managed by Ingka Centres Poland and a Distribution Centre located in Jarosty near Piotrków Trybunalski, which supplies 35 IKEA stores in Central and Eastern Europe. The Ingka Group also owns six wind farms in Poland, which generate more renewable energy than the annual energy consumption associated with IKEA's operations on the Polish market.
In financial year 2021, more than 22.5 million people visited Polish IKEA stores, and the IKEA.pl website recorded more than 163 million visits.
*The Ingka Group, formerly known as the IKEA Group, is the largest IKEA franchisee. Worldwide it manages nearly 400 stores in 32 countries. The name Ingka comes from the surname of IKEA's founder – Ingvar Kamprad.
