IKEA had a final, one-day-only fire sale in Russia as it begins to exit the country — but people ran into issues trying to order

Ikea Russia — Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

IKEA opened its Russian store for a final time, allowing people to shop in an online-only fire sale.
The Swedish furniture store is exiting the Russian market, but is open to returning one day.
After July 5, customers will be able to buy items if they are still in stock on the Russian site.

On Tuesday, IKEA opened for the last time in Russia with an online-only fire sale.

The Swedish furniture company, which still has 14 malls in Russia under another brand, is one of the latest companies exiting the Russian market amidst the country's war in Ukraine. Reuters reported that IKEA is still making plans for its 17 other stores that closed in March.

IKEA's Russian website told customers online sales would be carried out from July 5, "for a few weeks while stocks last." Purchases can only be made from ikea.ru.

According to Reuters, there were issues adding products to the website's shopping cart as of 12:30 p.m. Moscow time.

The website's homepage has a statement addressed to buyers that says making a purchase on the website and through IKEA Customer support is temporarily unavailable due to technical reasons.

"We remind you that there are enough goods in warehouses, our stores are closed, and the exchange and return departments are working as usual," the homepage says.

The statement goes on to say that delivery and self-delivery are limited and are only being carried out in cities that have an IKEA store, like Moscow and St. Petersburg.

An earlier message on IKEA's website saying the company was "processing received orders manually," was taken down, according to Reuters.

Last month, IKEA said it would sell its factories and close its offices in Russia, as well as cut down on its 15,000-person workforce in the country, Reuters reported. The company said it will pay its Russian workforce until the end of August.

"We remain hopeful that one day in the future, we will be able to bring back IKEA to the many people in Russia," IKEA's owner, Ingka Group, said in June. "However, today the precautions are not in place."

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