IKEA in Parliament

On the 31 January 2024 I hosted a IKEA UK & Ireland, Parliamentary Reception in the Terrace Pavillion. I opened the event with a speech and said: “Ambassador Gullgren, Minister Kevin Hollinrake Peter Jelkeby Country Retail Manager, and colleagues from both Houses and other guests for coming to Parliament to celebrate 80 years of Ikea the wonderful everyday:

I have an Ikea in my constituency: Ikea Birmingham in Wednesbury:
IKEA Birmingham / Wednesbury – which has become an integral part of our local community.

Last year –under the store Manager Patricio Aleman it was voted the IKEA global store of the year this was an amazing achievement as a result of the hard work from the team in Wednesbury; imagine when the opened the envelope and said : and the winner is Ikea Wednesbury.

I have seen the dedication of the co-workers and the commitment of IKEA

IKEA’s commitment to its co-workers, who are supported and valued, contributing to their financial, paying the real living wage, mental, and physical well-being. Especially in lockdown;

Many of the staff take up roles at other stores across the UK, or at head office in London, IKEA’s epicentre in Sweden; or perhaps working in IKEA markets as varied as India, Australia, and recently launched, Columbia and Chile.
Viraj Desai came from India to Wednesbury; I was there getting some retail therapy late Friday evening after a surgery, and Viraj was there checking everything was ok

Ikea’s commitment to charity work with Shelter; who can forget the room set where where they showed a room set of a family living in temporary accommodation complete with mould on the walls and one bedroom where the childrens toys were scattered.

IKEA’s commitment to the planet: it is a global company and show they can move with the times: there is now an IKEA City based in Hammersmith;
plantballs; click and collect; recycling in store; young designers and now small businesses. There is even a room set as a café and you can smell the coffee;

Today, its about celebrating 80 years of IKEA’s contributions to our homes, our communities, and our planet;
And so It is a pleasure to introduce Peter Jelkeby, IKEA’S Country Retail Manager and Sustainability Officer, to say a few words”.