The long journey for a kid in the ball pit to top job at Ikea Canada

Crittendon’s earliest memory of Ikea is a colourful one — as a tot playing in the ball pit at a store near his home in Washington, D.C.

His first professional engagement with the Big Blue-and-Yellow brand came after studying information systems, architecture and design at a community college in Virginia. 

“When you study architecture and design, you learn a lot about form and function and quality, and how it can impact people’s lives,” Crittendon says. “And then when you look at how we design our products — what we refer to as this ‘pentagon of democratic design’ based on form, function, quality, sustainability and low cost — it really resonated with me.”

Over the next 21 years, Crittendon worked in sales, store management, customer experience and business development for Ikea in D.C., Orlando, Miami and Philadelphia, before being tapped to oversee the brand’s Canadian operations and sustainability efforts in 2023.

With 481 stores in 63 countries, the 82-year old company consistently ranks among the most valuable retail brands on earth.

Today, Ikea boasts 14 full-size retail outlets across Canada as well as two smaller stores in downtown Toronto and Scarborough Town Centre.

In addition, there are eight ‘plan and order points’ in cities like Barrie, Kitchener and Windsor where customers can browse online with a specialist and order custom furnishings.

On March 18, Ikea Canada broke ground on a customer distribution centre in Hamilton, following the recent opening of two others in Quebec and Vancouver.

“Last year alone we had close to 200 million visits to Ikea Canada, either online or in our stores, and that’s up 14 per cent for in-store traffic, which shows Canadians are hungry for design, sustainability, and more importantly, affordable solutions,” Crittendon says.

That’s not all they were hungry for. “There were almost 23 million meatballs, and 2.9 million plant balls served in Canada last year,” he adds, “as well as 3.3 million hot dogs, and two million frozen yogurts.”

Crittendon says he’s excited to work for a company that is “big enough to make a difference,” in the face of challenges including DEI backlash, inflation and tariffs.

The Star recently spoke with Crittendon from Ikea Canada’s head office in Burlington about the brand’s digital evolution, its growing presence in Canada and how it strives to uphold its values in a world that is pulling away from them.  

What has kept you at Ikea for 23 years?

I would say two main things; the belief that we can make an impact, and my co-workers.

The choices we make, the way we give people opportunities to improve their home every day, and the 7,200 co-workers we have in Canada that want to help people achieve a better life while building their careers here has created this lifelong relationship with Ikea.

There’s also a lot of co-workers who have been with Ikea Canada for 40-plus years, so 23 years isn’t even that long compared to some of my colleagues.

What was your mandate as CEO and CSO of Ikea Canada in 2023?

The biggest mandate was to understand the Canadian market. This wonderful team had been on this omni-channel transformation journey for some time, so it’s about making sure we continue that path and accelerate that transformation.

We have over $400 million in investments between the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver for new improvement and fulfilment; so that includes Etobicoke, Vaughan, Ikea Richmond, and our new customer distribution Centre in Hamilton.

What does that omni-channel journey look like?

It means you now have a lot of different ways to pick up your Ikea goods.

Ikea Canada has been testing small formats for the last 10- to 15-years, where you could order online, or over the phone, and pick up your products from stores. At the time it wasn’t connected to a sophisticated fulfilment network, but from that we’ve built out our plan-and-order-points that are connected to all our stores and fulfilment centres across the country

You can now go to one of our big blue boxes, our plan-and-order points, our collection points, or to one of our partners, like Penguin Pickup. We also have over 1,000 FedEx pickup points across the country, so we’re a lot closer to many Canadians than they expect. All they have to do is go to IKEA.ca, type in their address, and we’ll find the best way to get those goods to them.

Does the bankruptcy of Hudson’s Bay suggest big box stores are no longer viable?

This is not the first time we’ve seen big retail brands consolidating or go out of business, and for me it just reinforces the need to evolve.

The pandemic made us realize we had to transform, which is when we started doing click-and-collect , and now that’s just one of many choices we offer. That’s why it’s so important to transform into this omni-retailer.

Our in-store and online traffic numbers are increasing, and we know that Canadians are looking for affordable solutions that meet their needs, which is why we recently invested $50 million to lower our prices after investing $80 million last year.

How can you maintain profitability while spending tens of millions to lower prices?

That’s a great question, and it’s what gets me excited, because that $130 million investment not only applies to our most iconic Ikea products, but also lower prices on food — like our 50 per cent off ‘Swe-dish Thursdays.’ We also lowered delivery services from $39 to $19, and we deliver to the room of your choice.

Where we find the savings is in creating this integrated supply chain, which allows us to optimize costs, whether it’s sourcing our raw materials or transforming our goods or moving them within the country.

We’re always looking for innovative ways to find cost savings to pass on to consumers. That’s how we address this affordability crisis, because we know that affordability and sustainability really work together to give more Canadians an opportunity to live a better life. It’s just the right thing to do, especially when times are hard.

Speaking of sustainability, why the dual title? 

The first thing I’ll say is that it’s pretty cool to have the dual title, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. Sustainability is woven into the fabric of our organization and has been from the beginning. It’s core to our product development, our operations, our people and our agenda.

When we talk about sustainably, we focus on healthy and sustainable living, waste reduction, renewable energy, zero emissions transportation and circular economy. For example, we saw a 36 per cent increase in our sellback program year-over-year, so people can sell their old products back to Ikea instead of leaving them by the side of the road.

We’re also running a campaign trying to end taxes on second-hand goods. When you buy something, you’re already paying taxes on it, so why should people have to pay taxes on the same item if it’s sold again? This is a multibillion-dollar opportunity to increase the circular economy, while saving Canadians money. We have over 35,000 signatures on a Change.org petition and we’re seeing other retailers join this effort. So, when I wear this dual hat of CEO and CSO I look at these issues through both lenses at once.

And it’s not just me; every co-worker is challenged to think about innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint, to be fairer and more inclusive. We have resource groups for co-workers focused on different racialized communities, talking about Indigenous reconciliation and gender balance. We’re about more than just the Billy Book cases; we want to make a better everyday life for people, and give opportunities to co-workers to come together and champion causes they care about.

DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion — even affordability — are under attack right now. Has it become harder to accomplish those goals?

When we take on these topics it’s not about the short-term decisions of the few; it’s about the long-term impact on the many. That’s what drives my passion. I will not stop fighting for people and planet just because we’re facing new headwinds; while I’m here, we’re going to continue working toward the things that make a positive impact.

I’m so proud that Ikea has come out and stood by our equity, diversity and inclusion stance. We’re not going to be quiet; we’re standing strong, and we’re going to do what’s right. No matter what people say, my colleagues around the world are standing by our values and commitments to people and planet.

Will tariffs make it harder to maintain affordability?

We have a global range of products; we source from places like Sweden, China and Italy, to name a few, so we can provide Canadians with a wide selection at affordable prices. As the country’s largest furniture and home decor retailer we will continue to stand by Canadians, many of whom are feeling the crunch. 

Today its tariffs, last year it was interest rates and inflation, and we know it’s been challenging. The goal of Ikea is to make well designed, functional home furnishings available to everyone, and we’ll continue to maintain our low prices. That’s the cornerstone of the business, and it allows us to have a long-term view, instead of looking for short-term gains.