Swedish furniture giant Ikea announced Monday that after almost 70 years, it was scrapping production of its iconic catalog.
The company said it was "emotional but rational decision" to turn the page on its annual catalog, citing changes in "media consumption and customer behaviors."
"For both customers and co-workers, the IKEA Catalog is a publication that brings a lot of emotions, memories and joy," said Konrad Grüss, managing director of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. "For 70 years it has been one of our most unique and iconic products, which has inspired billions of people across the world…In order to reach and interact with the many people, we will keep inspiring with our home furnishing solutions in new ways."
Gruss said IKEA’s push to become more digital comes as consumers increasingly seek inspiration online, as well as shopping via the web. Last year, the company's online sales jumped by 45%.
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To honor the history of the catalog, the company said it will release a book "filled with great home furnishing inspiration and knowledge" next fall.
The first Ikea catalog was published in 1951 and 285,000 copies were distributed in southern Sweden. By 2016, the catalog grew to 200 million copies published in 32 languages.
The news was met with mixed reaction on social media, with some fans lamenting the loss of their compendium of design inspirations while others noted it was time to retire a source of paper waste.
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"The catalog is essential for planning and WAY better than the website! I looked forward to mine each year. This makes me sad...," one Facebook user wrote on the company's page.
"I will miss the catalog! Perusing it and dreaming of what I could create in my own home was one of my favorite pastimes. However, I love that you will be saving so much paper, and sustainability is so very important. IKEA will always be my happy place Thank you @IKEA for doing the right thing," another person wrote.
