Key team members:

Natalia Rebelo, Country Legal Manager,

Bernardo Abreu, Legal Specialist/Acting Country Legal Manager

João Ferreira, Legal Specialist

Team size: Three and a permanent and a trainee every six months.

Major legal advisors: Abreu Advogados

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The legal department at IKEA Portugal is responsible for providing legal support to all INGKA Group entities within the Portuguese jurisdiction, as well as coordinating several projects with our global teams, legal or otherwise. As such, even in Portugal, this means that a small department with only 3 members is expected to provide legal advice and support for the following entities: IKEA Portugal, Móveis e Decoração, Lda. – a furniture retailer with 5 large stores and 16 plan and order points; INGKA Centres Portugal, S.A. – owner and manager of two large Shopping Centres, MAR Shopping Matosinhos and MAR Shopping Algarve; D.O. – Designer Outlet do Algarve, S.A. – a retail Outlet; and Parque Eólico do Pisco, S.A. – a wind farm SPV.

The diversity above, added to the projects that are brought to us from the Group projects, ensures that there is always a wide variety of topics, ideas and projects to plan and/or implement.

In March 2025, IKEA Portugal launched a platform for clients to resell their furniture directly to other clients (IKEA Preowned). Clients can opt to receive an additional 15% value on an IKEA refund card instead of cash. This will allow a new low price entry point for customers, as well as promoting circularity and driving visitation to our stores. The creation of an online marketplace has introduced a new set of regulatory challenges, especially in terms of online platforms and Data Privacy issues.

Additionally, IKEA Business has undergone a major transformation in order to address larger orders and purchases, both by State entities as well as large companies, contractors and project owners. In this year, our B2B platform has increased in revenue by 133%. The response to large projects has required an adaptation from the company and the legal team to address previously non-existent issues, due to the scope of the projects involved, which include furnishing and equipping student residences and other projects related with EU funding.

IKEA Portugal will be required to, until the end of 2025, incorporate or participate in an entity dedicated to the waste collection and management and of furniture and mattresses. Such an entity will be required to collect a volume equivalent to 40% of products sold by December 31st, 2030. This demanding goal and the short timeline provided have propelled the various retailers to seek solutions as a sector, and they are currently organising to comply with these legal demands.

Greenwashing in particular has had a legal focus. Our legal team continuously audits, identifies and improves sustainability communication in its every form to not only be compliant with the law, but also to be compliant with our most demanding and sustainability-oriented customers. This requires clear and transparent communication between all functions, with the legal team being an important part of the process. Furthermore, IKEA Portugal will be ready this year to make its own sustainability reporting ahead of the deadline in 2026.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

IKEA Portugal has full trust in their legal advisors and external support. Matters are divided and distributed according to efficiency criteria: the need to know or to be involved in local operations, and the skills and expertise of the person executing the task. According to the needs of the advice or support required, we may also work as a team, requiring both an overview of external advisors and the inside knowledge of the legal department, more frequently in strategic operations. External support is also critical in emergency or crisis situations.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company? Can you share an example of a recent legal-led initiative that had a significant impact?

Legal safety, as our team was first sought after for providing legal safety. Now, we are not just called for safety, but also to give input in the business itself. Due to our background, our views are found to be valuable in the early stages of any projects or new concepts. Our role is now not just avoiding risk on the myriad projects that are brought before us, but also navigating the unknown with the security of our background and knowledge. We have the will to discover new ways and solutions that are not always provided by the current legislation, since the pace of change and new technologies are faster than ever. We have been included in every project since its conception and, most of the time, even in the brainstorming stage, to ensure legal compliance by design. Not only do we seek solutions, but also, with such a small team in such a large group, it is a necessity to empower co-workers to lead and navigate the unknown.

Crisis management, with our legal team being one of the first ports of call when something unexpected happens. Sometimes it may be an opportunity, other times a crisis situation. Our legal team is able to provide our executive functions with the necessary comfort and assurance to take decisive steps.

Lastly, support on defining operating procedures and guidelines, as legal has a crucial role in drafting, defining and managing the company’s Steering Documents, which include Local Rules, Guidelines, Standard Operating Procedures, etc. This is a cross-function task, where legal usually takes the lead, in connection with the compliance department.

What are some of the biggest legal or regulatory challenges currently facing your industry, and how is your team preparing to address them?

The increase in Environmental and Digital regulations from the EU, and their irregular and inconsistent transposition and implementation to the Portuguese Legal System in the last five years, has required significant adaptation, new competences and skills from the company in general, and the legal team in particular. Greenwashing, waste management and the increased scope of responsibilities of the retailers (including deposit-refund systems), accessibility requirements, community platform and marketplace regulations, consumer arbitration courts, repair and other consumer laws have all been implemented and substantially changed – multiple times in some cases (for example, Unilex). This has not only increased the areas of intervention of the legal team but also determined that the team needs to be included in the operation to enable the stakeholders to understand what is legally required of them to comply. It also grants the legal team the necessary technical concepts to address and adapt compliance to the specific operational challenges.