Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is to attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the largest gathering of people wearing two-piece pyjamas in Älmhult, Sweden on the 28th of August.
This initiative in the birthplace of the brand will mark the beginning of the retailer’s year-long focus on improving sleep for the many people while further growing its business.
Despite widespread recognition of sleep’s importance, many people still struggle to achieve good quality rest. Recent research from IKEA’s Life at Home report reveals that 55% of people rate sleep as their most important well-being activity at home. Yet, numerous studies show that as many as 1 out of 2 adults report dissatisfaction with their sleep, which affects their daily functioning and work performance. Socio-economically disadvantaged people have a higher chance of experiencing sleep issues. Results also show that poor sleep quality is particularly common among university students, with between 30% and 70% of them classified as poor sleepers.
“Our customers’ interest in sleep has been on the rise for years. For example, bedroom furniture has become our biggest online business, and in FY24 we have seen extra demand for bedroom storage and bed textiles – such as sheets, bedspreads, comforters,” says Tolga Öncü, Ingka Retail Manager (COO) at IKEA Retail (Ingka Group). “The message from our customers has been quite clear – they want more sleep tips, more sleep solutions, and even more convenience in reaching their dream sleep setup. This is what we aim to respond to in FY25.”
IKEA’s world record attempt on the 28th of August will be followed by global pyjama events starting on the 31st of August across many markets. Customers who visit IKEA stores that day wearing their pyjamas will have a chance to enjoy special activities, knowledge-sharing, and offers while also becoming part of one of the biggest celebrations of sleep. With these engagements the company will kick off its year-long focus on promoting six factors of good sleep – comfort, light, temperature, sound, air quality, and decluttering and storage.
“We believe that a good night’s sleep is essential for a better everyday life, and it should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their lifestyle or the size of their wallets,” says Öncü. “For this reason, we will continue keeping our prices as low as possible for the many in today’s economic environment. At the same time, we aim to grow our customer base and continue increasing our global market share.”
Over the years, IKEA has innovated the complete sleep range to better meet customers’ needs and expectations.
“We know that many people struggle with the challenges of living in small, shared spaces, where cramped and cluttered settings make it difficult to create an ideal sleep environment,” says Fredrika Inger, Managing Director of IKEA of Sweden. “Recognizing that, we have developed our range of complete sleep solutions to better meet the diverse needs, enabling everyone to create their own comfortable and restful sleep environment.”
As it aims to improve the quality of sleep for more people, the biggest IKEA retailer wants to do it in a more sustainable and circular way. In addition to offering products that use more recycled and renewable textile materials, Ingka Group’s investment in leading mattress dismantler RetourMatras is bringing the company closer to being able to recycle the equivalent number of mattresses it sells by 2030.
