In 2018 Ikea’s worldwide franchise holder Inter Ikea Systems announced it was looking at entering the New Zealand market, with reports that a greenfields site of 5ha-plus was in the pipeline (or should we say flatpack). Over a year on, we look into exactly when is Ikea coming to New Zealand and where the proposed mega-store will be located.
In a statement, the retail operations manager for Ingka Group Tolga Oncu said the company is happy to meet the wish of many New Zealanders for Ikea to open here. “We aim to make IKEA fully accessible, including stores and e-commerce. We see this as a long-term commitment and investment in New Zealand, building relationships with customers, suppliers and future co-workers.”
How many stores – and where?
Last week, Ikea confirmed they will open three “customer touchpoints” across New Zealand. One of these will include a full-sized store in Auckland.
While the Swedish retailer has not confirmed the exact locations, it is reported they will open a planning studio in Wellington and a smaller store in Christchurch.
Jan Gardberg, the country retail manager for Ikea New Zealand, says the retail giant is interested in knowing more about their New Zealand customers. “While planning has been underway, we have also been getting to know more about life at home in New Zealand,” he says.
When is Ikea coming to New Zealand?
While no specific details were revealed, the classic big-box store will be coming in the “next few years” according to the statement.
However, with the recent announcement that American retailer Costco will be coming to New Zealand, speculation about when and where the Swedish furniture store will be located in the country is rife. In June 2019, Costco said that it will launch its store at Westgate – possibly ruling out the location for Ikea.
Pop-up store
Until the official opening, Ikea will open a pop-up shop in central Auckland. “It does take time to build a truly big blue and yellow iconic Ikea store, it will take a number of years to get the full offer up and running but we don’t want to keep people waiting,” Ikea’s New Zealand manager, Will Edwards told Stuff earlier this year.
“Planning is underway for a location of the store and pop-up store. More information will be shared when we have more concrete plans,” the Ikea New Zealand says.
There are 367 Ikea stores in 30 different countries, including Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia, and soon Kiwis can look forward to access to 7000 products from the brand.