IKEA has announced plans to start renting its furniture, as part of a move towards acircular economythat includes refurbishing and re-selling products.

The trial furniture rental scheme, due to begin in Switzerland imminently, will initially be limited tooffice furniture such as desks and chairs.

"We see big potential in inspiring and enabling consumers to play an active role in making the circular economy a reality, and we can facilitate that by developing new business models in relation to how they acquire, care for and pass on products," explained an IKEA spokesperson.

"In certain markets, such as Switzerland, we're exploring and testing potential solutions, designing relevant offers and then testing them with customers. However nothing is up and running at the moment," they told Dezeen.

Although the trial will only include office furniture at this point, IKEA hasn't ruled out leasing rather than selling kitchens and other products in future.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Inter IKEA chief executive Torbjorn Loof said: "You could say leasing is another way of financing a kitchen."

"When this circular model is up and running, we have a much bigger interest in not just selling a product but seeing what happens with it and that the consumer takes care of it."

When questioned by Dezeen, IKEA wouldn't say whether the trial rental scheme was the first move towards a subscription business model of leasing furniture.

"We're always exploring new areas and we're in a test and trial period," the company said. "As for now, were exploring the opportunities to pilot projects connected to leasing, however for now we're focusing on gathering insights from customers."

Read the resot of the story @ Dezeen

Photo : Amrank Real Estate