IKEA CEO mulls move into electricals

By Rachel Sanderson

BARCELONA, April 1 (Reuters) - Sweden's IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, could start to stock flat-screen televisions and DVD players alongside its Billy bookshelves as it ramps up an ambitious global expansion.

Chief Executive Anders Dahlvig in an interview with Reuters said IKEA aimed to put a "bigger focus" on the living room in the next year, adding accessories for TV and videogames alongside new sofas and storage ranges.

When asked if that could lead to electricals being sold in its iconic blue and yellow stores, he replied: "Maybe. It depends on the stores. They are big, but they are still crowded; there are lots of products we would like to have in there."

However, Dahlvig cautioned that privately held IKEA, one of the world's most recognised brands, should not expand too fast into new product areas as it risked weakening its core business.

"There are so many temptations in this direction; we can put our logo on anything and it would probably sell. It's a little bit like an iPod or Apple or Nike," he said.

From the sale of inexpensive, self-assembly furniture, IKEA's billionaire founder, Ingvar Kamprad, has built an empire spanning 237 stores in 35 countries and territories.

Forecast revenues for this year are nearly 20 billion euros