Making the world go round
We opened the first Circuit space in our Birsta City meeting place in Sundsvall (Sweden), offering the many people easy access to a range of services, retailers and activities related to the circular economy.
We always see a vacant unit as a great opportunity to implement an innovative and creative idea that can add value to the local community – and that’s exactly what our team at Birsta City was thinking when they created the Circular Lounge.
Central to the whole area is what we call “the IKEA staircase”, a comfy place where visitors are invited to sit, relax and charge their phones – using green electricity, of course. And what if someone would like to indulge even longer and spend time together with a good book? No problem. The Circular Lounge features a bookcase open to everyone, where people can take, borrow, swap and also donate second-hand books.
Chilling out is not the only thing people can do in Birsta City’s Lounge. The second-hand store close-by the staircase offers carefully selected pre-loved clothes and accessories at affordable prices. And it doesn’t end here. There’s also an area where co-workers from the local IKEA store show customers and visitors ways to customise, re-use and re-purpose furniture and give new life to IKEA products.
“The Circular Lounge demonstrates our focus on sustainability. It has been a very inspiring project to work on, and we’re proud it took just two weeks to transform this area into a unique retail experience in close collaboration with our IKEA colleagues. We look forward to the Circular Lounge attracting a large number of visitors over the coming months and years. We’re excited to continue developing this one-off area in our meeting place.” – Annette Linder Jonsson, Birsta City Meeting Place, Customer Experience Specialist.
Since the space is conceived to be dynamic and flexible, there’s always something new happening in the Circular Lounge – it’s just a matter of stopping by Birsta City often and checking out the many brilliant ideas that inspire everyone to live a healthier and more sustainable life.
In these challenging times, nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our co-workers, partners, and customers. That's why we are closely following the advice of authorities and healthcare organizations in all our markets to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. We believe that by working together and supporting each other we will come through this as a stronger community.
We are all looking forward to a safe future.