Ikea taps startups as retail landscape changes

New partners: Swedish furniture retailer is working with startups to freshen its appeal to younger customers. — Reuters

SANKARSHAN Murthy sinks into a sofa at Ikea’s conference centre in the sleepy town of Almhult in southern Sweden. The former Tesla Inc and Apple Inc engineer is jetlagged after flying from San Francisco to make a pitch for his startup, BumbleBee Spaces, which has developed a robotic system to maximise space in small apartments by hoisting beds and other furniture to the ceiling when not in use.

BumbleBee was one of 18 companies invited by Ikea for a “startup boot camp” in late March, following a selection process that drew more than 1,100 entries worldwide.