As part of its attempt to become more environmentally-friendly Ikea is now selling solar panels to customers in the United Kingdom.
"You can assemble your own kitchen, but we're not suggesting people install their own solar panels on their roof," Steve Howard, the company's sustainability chief told The Wall Street Journal. "It's a real business and if we take this to global scale it will be of course a commercial business. You've got to make some profit from it."
The company is the first furniture retailer to offer solar panels to everyday customers. The furniture giant is also looking at other locations where it can possibly sell the product in order to meet customer's demand for sustainable products.
Recently, Ikea has pushed a selection of products meant to conserve energy. These include LED bulbs, ultra efficient appliances and products which conserve water. According to The Journal, solar panels can be expensive for customers, however, Ikea said it has furniture available for less than its competitors because it cuts prices, and rounds out low margins.
"You don't have to care about the environment and climate change, you can just care about the finances," Howard told The Journal.
The panels go for 5,700 British pounds a package or $9,200 and could be a customer's third biggest purchase aside from a house or a car. In total, the company brings in an appraised $100 million in revenue a year by generating its own electricity The Journal reported.
The company has installed over half a million panels on roofs of stores and factories. It also owns many wind turbines which generate energy in several European countries, along with the United States.
While Ikea has made strides in the solar panel business, Wal-Mart is currently the the largest commercial owner of the items having had panels installed at 200 stores by the end of last year.
