Sales at Ikea Italy fell 2.6% to e1.6m (£1.3m) in the year ended August 30, the retailer’s first ever year-on-year decline since entering Italy in 1989.

Ikea has 20 stores and more than 46 million visitors annually. It plans to invest e400m (£322m) over the next three years in new openings and the development of online.