IKEA has today announced it will be relaunching its iconic BILLY bookcase, with the new and more circular version going on sale in IKEA stores across the UK from January 2024. BILLY has been one of IKEA’s best-selling and most popular products for more than 40 years.
The relaunched BILLY will be made using paper foil instead of veneer, a move which will significantly reduce plastic usage. It will also feature snap fittings, allowing people to disassemble and reassemble the bookcase for the first time, making it easier for people to move BILLY with them as their lives and needs change.
Jesper Samuelsson, Business Leader at Inter IKEA Group, said: “BILLY is one of our most loved products, and it represents an important part of IKEA’s history. The new wood expressions will be a great facelift, and the shift to paper foil enables more efficient material use and reduces production waste. It is a giant leap into the future for BILLY. We hope it continues to be as popular and spread joy in people’s lives for many more years to come.
“The introduction of snap fittings and making it possible to disassemble and reassemble the bookcase is an important change to BILLY, that goes hand in hand with IKEA’s People and Planet Positive strategy to design our products circularly from the very beginning. The option to disassemble and reassemble BILLY also improves its mobility, making it easier to bring it with you as your life and needs change. By enabling products and materials to stay in use longer, we solve many customers’ needs and take steps toward reducing our impact on the planet.”
The latest launch will come in new colours and finishes, including a black oak, dark brown oak, brown walnut, oak and birch, which will replace the colours that are available today and better align with IKEA’s entire range. The paper foil also enables the design to have new eye-catching wood expressions, whilst the new wrapped edges will reduce the number of plastic edge bands without compromising its stability.
To make living sustainably more accessible and simpler for the many, in 2020 IKEA launched the Buy Back scheme in its UK stores. Buy Back is an initiative which gives customers the chance to sell back their unwanted IKEA furniture and in return receive an IKEA voucher to spend when really needing something. For customers who might need to replace their older BILLY bookcase, IKEA encourages them to benefit from the Buy Back scheme, to help reduce waste and help others to live a more circular life at home.
The new and improved BILLY will be available in the Asia Pacific region from July 2022, and in UK stores and online from January 2024.
