LONDON — Ikea has hired Kaper as its corporate PR agency in the UK, as it steps up ambitious expansion plans across the country.

Kaper secures the brief following a competitive review that was handled by AAR. The agency will attempt to help Ikea increase its transparency among consumers and corporate stakeholders, and demonstrate that the company is committed to people and the environment.

The Kaper team will be led by MD Chris McCafferty and deputy MD Nicola Dodd, reporting to Ikea country communications manager Lewis Marshall and corporate PR manager Claire Morisot-Siebenthal.

Marshall noted that Ikea remains best-known for its products and services in the UK, rather than its corporate reputation. "Bringing the Kaper team on board will help us to strengthen and protect the Ikea reputation by both sharing our positive contributions as a company and also by acknowledging our challenges and how we are overcoming them, building on our market leadership position and helping us to continue to grow our business."

Kaper's hire does not affect Hope&Glory's role as Ikea's consumer PR agency. Kaper's brief includes reactive and proactive corporate press office, including sharing corporate stories through business and consumer media on both a national and local store level.

Ikea's UK sales increased by 11.3% to £1.57bn last year, its fourth consecutive year of growth. The company's market share also improved to 7.7%, which it intends to double by 2020.

Ikea currently operates 18 large stores in the UK, but is also planning smaller high street stores to attract more customers. In addition to ‘bricks and mortar’ expansion plans, Ikea UK will also launch a new website as part of its multi-channel ecommerce efforts.