Inkhabar webdesk

By Helen Reid and Greta Rosen Fondahn LONDON/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -IKEA has acquired U.S. logistics technology firm Locus, the two companies said on Tuesday, a deal the Swedish furniture retailer said would make its deliveries to shoppers smoother and faster as it invests to expand online sales. The takeover is in addition to a $2.2 billion push by Ingka Group, the biggest global IKEA franchisee, in the U.S. where it competes with Wayfair and Walmart and is also contending with higher tariffs on imports that are increasing its costs. IKEA declined to disclose the value of the deal. Locus was valued at $300 million in its most recent funding round in 2021, according to reports at the time. IKEA said acquiring Locus would simplify its logistics and reduce its delivery expenses by an estimated 100 million euros ($117.41 million) a year globally. Locus uses artificial intelligence to group orders and predict routes that minimize the time delivery vehicles spend in traffic, a planning process that is currently done manually by IKEA workers, Parag Parekh, chief digital officer at Ingka Group told Reuters in an interview. Locus will also enable IKEA to offer customers more delivery windows and options, and give live updates on where their package is, as well as delivering faster, Parekh added. It will likely pilot the technology in the U.S. and UK before using it globally. "Speed is one aspect of it, but more importantly for us, it will be the flexibility, it will be the ability to track… and more importantly, through all of this, help drive a better customer experience," he said. Locus' shareholders included Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and private equity firms Alpha Wave, Tiger Global, and Qualcomm Ventures prior to the all-share acquisition by Ingka Investments, the retailer's investment arm. Under the deal, Locus will operate independently and continue to work with clients beyond IKEA. IKEA DOUBLES DOWN ON U.S. MARKET DESPITE TARIFFS Known mostly for its bright blue big-box suburban stores showcasing sofas, beds and bookcases in a labyrinth layout, IKEA has shifted focus onto its online business over the past five years and invested in smaller city-centre stores as it targets younger and more urban shoppers. Online sales accounted for 28% of total IKEA retail sales in its 2024 financial year, up from 11% in 2019. The acquisition comes just a week after Ingka Investments bought a building in Manhattan for $213 million, pushing ahead with U.S. expansion despite President Donald Trump imposing higher tariffs on furniture imports. "In terms of the macroeconomics around us … probably there's uncertainty on the quarters ahead," Parekh said. "But as a company we remain committed to the U.S." ($1 = 0.8517 euros) (Reporting by Helen Reid in London and Greta Rosen Fondahn in Stockholm; Editing by Kim Coghill)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Tim Hepher PRAGUE (Reuters) – Europe's Airbus broke a major commercial barrier on Tuesday when its A320 family of planes overtook the Boeing 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history. Boeing's decades-old record fell as a jet was delivered overnight to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing deliveries to 12,260 since the A320 began service in 1988, according to benchmark data from UK-based consultancy Cirium, used across the industry. Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the data, tracked by aircraft supply analyst Rob Morris. Between them Boeing and Airbus have delivered more than 25,000 such jets, originally designed to feed large hubs and later widely adopted by low-cost carriers, which Airbus courted after Boeing cut output during a downturn in demand post-9/11. Airbus is already the world's largest planemaker by total annual deliveries, but the shattered ceiling in the narrow-body market caps a 40-year transatlantic battle for market share after early disagreements over strategy and the share of jobs between partner nations, France, Germany, Spain and Britain. DECADES OF TRANSATLANTIC RIVALRY The A320 was launched in 1984 at a time when many questioned whether Airbus would last another decade after painfully launching two wide-body jets. It first flew three years later. Airbus engineers in Toulouse, France, gambled on introducing fly-by-wire computer controls for the first time to a mainstream airliner, a pioneering technology that faced resistance from unions and some carriers but later became widely accepted. Airbus is now expanding production in the U.S. and China. Boeing set the standard for narrow-body aircraft production with its popular 737, first introduced in the 1960s, but plunged into crisis following fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019. The company is gradually restoring output under regulatory limits. The two plane giants are expected to introduce new models sometime next decade but both told the ISTAT conference in Prague on Monday they were unlikely to start development any time soon as they wait for advances in engine technology. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Tim Hepher PRAGUE (Reuters) – Europe's Airbus broke a major commercial barrier on Tuesday when its A320 family of planes overtook the Boeing 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history. Boeing's decades-old record fell as a jet was delivered overnight to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing deliveries to 12,260 since the A320 began service in 1988, according to benchmark data from UK-based consultancy Cirium, used across the industry. Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the data, tracked by aircraft supply analyst Rob Morris. Between them Boeing and Airbus have delivered more than 25,000 such jets, originally designed to feed large hubs and later widely adopted by low-cost carriers, which Airbus courted after Boeing cut output during a downturn in demand post-9/11. Airbus is already the world's largest planemaker by total annual deliveries, but the shattered ceiling in the narrow-body market caps a 40-year transatlantic battle for market share after early disagreements over strategy and the share of jobs between partner nations, France, Germany, Spain and Britain. DECADES OF TRANSATLANTIC RIVALRY The A320 was launched in 1984 at a time when many questioned whether Airbus would last another decade after painfully launching two wide-body jets. It first flew three years later. Airbus engineers in Toulouse, France, gambled on introducing fly-by-wire computer controls for the first time to a mainstream airliner, a pioneering technology that faced resistance from unions and some carriers but later became widely accepted. Airbus is now expanding production in the U.S. and China. Boeing set the standard for narrow-body aircraft production with its popular 737, first introduced in the 1960s, but plunged into crisis following fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019. The company is gradually restoring output under regulatory limits. The two plane giants are expected to introduce new models sometime next decade but both told the ISTAT conference in Prague on Monday they were unlikely to start development any time soon as they wait for advances in engine technology. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Tim Hepher PRAGUE (Reuters) – Europe's Airbus broke a major commercial barrier on Tuesday when its A320 family of planes overtook the Boeing 737 to become the most-delivered jetliner in history. Boeing's decades-old record fell as a jet was delivered overnight to Saudi carrier Flynas, bringing deliveries to 12,260 since the A320 began service in 1988, according to benchmark data from UK-based consultancy Cirium, used across the industry. Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the data, tracked by aircraft supply analyst Rob Morris. Between them Boeing and Airbus have delivered more than 25,000 such jets, originally designed to feed large hubs and later widely adopted by low-cost carriers, which Airbus courted after Boeing cut output during a downturn in demand post-9/11. Airbus is already the world's largest planemaker by total annual deliveries, but the shattered ceiling in the narrow-body market caps a 40-year transatlantic battle for market share after early disagreements over strategy and the share of jobs between partner nations, France, Germany, Spain and Britain. DECADES OF TRANSATLANTIC RIVALRY The A320 was launched in 1984 at a time when many questioned whether Airbus would last another decade after painfully launching two wide-body jets. It first flew three years later. Airbus engineers in Toulouse, France, gambled on introducing fly-by-wire computer controls for the first time to a mainstream airliner, a pioneering technology that faced resistance from unions and some carriers but later became widely accepted. Airbus is now expanding production in the U.S. and China. Boeing set the standard for narrow-body aircraft production with its popular 737, first introduced in the 1960s, but plunged into crisis following fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019. The company is gradually restoring output under regulatory limits. The two plane giants are expected to introduce new models sometime next decade but both told the ISTAT conference in Prague on Monday they were unlikely to start development any time soon as they wait for advances in engine technology. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Louise Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)