At the beginning of 2021, Anita Ryng took up the position of Communications Director at IKEA Retail, temporarily replacing the absent Katarzyna Broniarek.

Among the challenges facing the team led by Anita Ryng is, among other things, communications support for activities related to the 60th anniversary of IKEA's presence in Poland and the implementation of the long-term People & Planet Positive strategy.

Who is Anita Ryng?

Anita Ryng joined IKEA Retail three years ago as Public Sector Cooperation Manager in the communications department. Since January 2021, she has served as press spokesperson for IKEA Retail in Poland and Communications Director, responsible for leading and developing IKEA's communication strategy in Poland, both internal and external.

Working with Anita Ryng on the team are: Aneta Gil, External Communications Leader, Katarzyna Mroczkowska, Communications Processes Manager, Maciej Krzyczkowski, Public Sector Cooperation Manager, Małgorzata Jezierska, Commercial Communications and Product PR Coordinator, and Krzysztof Janiak, Communications Coordinator.

Previously, Anita Ryng worked in the public sector, where she dealt with, among other things, international cooperation and EU funds. She was also responsible for supporting political and economic cooperation between Poland and the Netherlands at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in The Hague.

 

Ingka Group*

Scale of IKEA Retail operations

Who is the new Communications Director at IKEA Retail?

Who is the new communications director at IKEA Retail?

in Poland currently has eleven IKEA stores and sixty-four Order Pick-up Points (including Mobile Points and those in IKEA stores), which are managed by IKEA Retail. It also owns five shopping centres managed by Ingka Centres Polska and a Distribution Centre located in Jarosty near Piotrków Trybunalski, supplying 32 IKEA stores in 11 markets. 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 2020, more than 25 million people visited Polish IKEA stores, and the IKEA.pl website recorded more than 154 million visits.

*Ingka Group, formerly known as the IKEA Group, is the largest IKEA franchisee. Worldwide, it manages 378 stores in 31 countries. The name Ingka comes from the surname of IKEA's founder – Ingvar Kamprad.

Concepts from the article

PR — Public Relations. Activities that build an organisation's reputation and relationships with its environment: media, customers, employees, partners and communities. PR includes press releases, media relations, crisis management, events and brand narrative.

Why it matters: It builds what no advertisement can buy: credibility in someone else's voice. An editorial publication and a well-handled crisis weigh more than a campaign — because it is a third party speaking, not the brand about itself.

When it is used: Continuously: media relations, press releases, interviews, events; especially in a crisis and during changes within a company.

What happens if it is omitted: Without media relations, a company speaks only through paid channels, and in a crisis it is left without spokespeople and without trust.