Ikea buys handyman-for-hire service TaskRabbit – CNET


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Ikea buys handyman-for-hire service TaskRabbit

The Swedish home furnishings giant now owns the gig economy specialist.

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TaskRabbit.com

Those Ikea cabinet assembly instructions giving you fits? The company could soon make it easier to hire someone to do it for you.

TaskRabbit, which connects handymen, movers and yard workers with people who have a task they’d rather pay someone else to do, is now part of the Sweden-based home furnishings retailer.

TaskRabbit will continue to function as an independent company according to Ikea’s press release. Once the deal is completed, other countries beyond the US and UK, where TaskRabbit currently operates, may be added.

“We will be able to learn from TaskRabbit’s digital expertise, while also providing IKEA customers additional ways to access flexible and affordable service solutions to meet the needs of today’s customer,” said Jesper Brodin, president and CEO of IKEA Group.

Asked about terms of the deal, an Ikea spokesperson replied: “We do not comment on transaction details, process or valuation.”

Ikea’s main focus is still its physical retail stores, but lately it has made other moves to embrace digital, including a new augmented-reality app to help you place furniture. 

Updated with information from Ikea’s press release.

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