IKEA has signed an agreement to acquire the tech company TaskRabbit.
On Thursday, IKEA Group announced they had signed an agreement to acquire 100% of TaskRabbit, an on-demand services company. Operating out of the United States, TaskRabbit will continue to serve as an independent company and will continue to provide users with the ability to hire people to assemble furniture, move, pack and deliver home improvements.
“In a fast changing retail environment, we continuously strive to develop new and improved products and services to make our customers’ lives a little bit easier. Entering the on-demand, sharing economy enables us to support that. We will be able to learn from TaskRabbit’s digital expertise, while also providing IKEA customers additional ways to access flexible and affordable service solutions to meet the needs of today’s customer,” says Jesper Brodin, President, and CEO of IKEA Group.
TaskRabbit is currently available in 40 cities across the United States and in London. Last November, IKEA launched a pilot program with TaskRabbit and IKEA stores in London to enable furniture-assembly services.
After the acquisition, IKEA will be able to provide customers, and users access to services rendered by TaskRabbit in the United States and the United Kingdom.
“Through our unique on-demand platform, TaskRabbit is making life better for both consumers and Taskers. In the communities in which we operate, TaskRabbit provides strong economic impact. With IKEA Group ownership, TaskRabbit could realize even greater opportunities; increasing earning potential of Taskers and connecting consumers to a wide range of affordable services,” says Stacy Brown-Philpot, TaskRabbit CEO.
IKEA’s acquisition of TaskRabbit is a significant move for the world’s largest furniture retailer, which currently operates and owns over 300 stores in 29 different countries, not to mention, two billion visits to IKEA.com per year.