We all love IKEA furniture, but hate assembling it. Those tediously tiny screws get lost under something, and there’s always way too many pieces. The good news is you don’t have to worry about that anymore.
The Swedish home goods retailer announced today that it acquired Silicon Valley-based startup TaskRabbit. TaskRabbit is an on-demand customer service business that links freelance workers with people who need things done. TaskRabbit providers to do everything from assembling IKEA furniture, home repairs, or standing in line to buy the latest iPhone to delivering food.
https://twitter.com/beninato/status/913428413406363648
This acquisition is expected to bolster IKEA’s digital services to better compete with companies like Amazon. It’s also Ikea’s first step into the “on-demand” platform space, according to Recode. IKEA debuted its own smart home lighting system in March followed by its new app, IKEA Place, earlier this month that allows people to experiment and design their living space with over 2,000 of Ikea’s products.
“We will be able to learn from TaskRabbit’s digital expertise, while also providing Ikea customers additional ways to access flexible and affordable service solutions to meet the needs of today’s customer,” Jesper Brodin, president and CEO of the company, said in a press release.
The deal will officially close in October. TaskRabbit, which has about 60 direct employees and more than 60,000 workers using its platform, will remain independent of IKEA.
H/T Recode