Swedish furniture giant Ikea has signed a conditional agreement to acquire San Francisco, CA-based on-demand services platform companyTaskRabbit for an undisclosed sum. The two companies had earlier worked on a pilot project in November 2016 in London to enable furniture-assembly services by Taskers to Ikea customers.
TaskRabbit connects consumers with ‘taskers’ to handle everyday needs such as furniture assembly, moving and packing, handyman work, and home improvements. The company’s service platform is available in 40 cities around the United States and in London.
“We will be able to learn from TaskRabbit’s digital expertise, while also providing Ikeacustomers additional ways to access flexible and affordable service solutions to meet the needs of today’s customer,” said Jesper Brodin, president and CEO of Ikea, talking on the transaction.
Ikea owns and operates 357 IKEA stores in 29 countries. The store’s online presence represents an e-commerce business with over two billion visits every year, according to the company.
[Image courtesy: TaskRabbit]