In this interview, Philippe Dubrana talks about changing consumer behavior. The director of IKEA Toulouse was first to work with Trusk. The startup helped him cope with rising demand for rapid delivery.

Philippe Dubrana
Director, IKEA Toulouse

Philippe Dubrana is Director of IKEA Toulouse, which has started to work with the delivery startup Trusk in 2017.

Traditional retailers have come under pressure from new digital business models. What impact does this trend have on Ikea?
The success of Ikea is built on the cash and carry model. The consumers come to our stores, choose from a large offering, and can immediately take the merchandise with them. But there has been a marked evolution of customer preferences in the past few years. The share of our clients that prefer delivery is increasing steadily. Home delivery demand is 10 times higher than a year ago, partly due to new competitive pricing. I’m convinced that it will increase further mainly due to the new customer behavior and the more affordable home delivery service that Trusk offers.

“The densification of city centers is ongoing, and the main pain point that needs to be addressed is logistics.”

What is the reason for changing consumer preferences?
Many people that live in congested city centers don’t own cars anymore. If they do, they own small cars. The densification of city centers is ongoing, and the main pain point that needs to be addressed is logistics. This is true not just from a consumer perspective. Real estate has become so expensive for retailers that they need a very rapid turnaround of their merchandise.

There are a lot of traditional transport companies. Why is there a need for innovation?
It isn’t just the total demand for transport that increases, it is the demand for express deliveries. The internet has brought about a true change in customer’s expectations, it made consumers impatient. They don’t want to wait for days or weeks. They want instant gratification. Retailers need to become very fast and service-driven if they want to succeed. Unfortunately, traditional transporters struggle with this kind of speed, they can’t deliver quickly because they lack the modern tools that are necessary for it.

Is speed the reason why you decided to start working with the delivery startup Trusk in 2017?
When the founders of Trusk approached me, I was open because I’m also responsible for finding innovative new and competitive offers. This is why I decided to work with Trusk. Speed is an important reason. With Trusk, we can offer express delivery in two hours for 39 Euros as best price. This is what consumers want. We have set up Trusk booths just after the checkout where people can organize their delivery. Trusk’s on-demand delivery service also helps to cope with the important peaks during the day.

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When are these peaks?
On any given Saturday, there are waves. The first is shoppers that come by in the morning. They want the goods to be delivered early in the afternoon, when they come home and have time to redecorate their home. The other peak is towards 5pm, since we’re open until 8 pm.

What is the feedback from customers?
The customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. This is why 19 other Ikeas in France and Ikea Geneva followed our lead and work together with Trusk now.