Furniture giant Ikea has said it will scrap its catalogue as more people turn to the internet to shop.
The last print run of the catalogue was this summer, the company said, after a history that stretches back to 1951.
Some 285,000 copies of the first catalogue, with 68 pages, were printed that year and distributed to people in the south of Sweden.
As a tribute and celebration of the Ikea Catalogue’s 70-year history, the retailer said it would launch a book in autumn 2021, filled with home furnishing inspiration and knowledge.
The decision forms part of the retailer’s ongoing ambition to become a more digital and accessible business.
The news comes after Ikea found that its catalogue was being used less due to changing customer behaviour and media consumption.
Inter Ikea Systems BV, the worldwide Ikea franchisor, said it would cease production the catalogue – both in print and online – after it collected and considered insights from customers and shops.
“For both customers and co-workers, the Ikea Catalogue is a publication that brings a lot of emotions, memories and joy,” Inter Ikea Systems BV managing director Konrad Grüss said. “For 70 years it has been one of our most unique and iconic products, which has inspired billions of people across the world.”
He added: “Life at home has never been more important. Over the last few years Ikea has tested new formats and ways to distribute the content of the Ikea Catalogue. Insights highlight that people are now planning the needs and dreams of their homes with alternative existing and new exciting tools. Whilst it is time to say goodbye to the Catalogue, Ikea look to the future with excitement – as this chapter closes, another one begins. We will now take the next steps to amplify the unique Ikea home furnishing knowledge, products and solutions in the best possible way. But we are not starting from scratch.