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Why IKEA Chose Philippines for World's Biggest Store

Why IKEA Chose Philippines for World's Biggest Store
IKEA Superstore © Nolisoli.ph

A growing middle class and a booming residential market led Swedish furniture-maker IKEA to build its biggest store ever in the Philippines, officials said Tuesday.

Set for opening in 2020, IKEA Philippines will be 65,000 square meters big, enough to fit 150 basketball courts and nearly double the size of a typical branch, officials said.

It will located be at the SM Mall of Asia, in the Manila Bay area where property prices jumped in the first 3 months of the year due to strong demand that outpaced other business districts in the capital.

A jeepney painted in IKEA's blue and yellow colors is displayed at the SM Mall of Asia, where the Swedish furniture-maker will build its largest store in the world. Image: George Calvelo/ABS-CBN News
A jeepney painted in IKEA's blue and yellow colors is displayed at the SM Mall of Asia, where the Swedish furniture-maker will build its largest store in the world. Image: George Calvelo/ABS-CBN News

 

Only 2 of IKEA Philippines' 5 floors will be for brick and mortar retail. The rest will be allocated for a warehouse and a call center that will handle the e-commerce side of the business, said Georg Platzer, who will manage the store.

"Philippines is a very young country. I think the fact that the average age is 24 years makes us believe in our glorious future here," Platzer told ABS-CBN News. 

IKEA Showroom. Image: IKEA/Texas Public Radio
IKEA Showroom. Image: IKEA/Texas Public Radio

 

"The new generation, they love to shop online, but at the same time they love to be inspired by touching and feeling and testing so I think it's a combination. Nobody should deny the existence of the other way of retailing," he said 

Its website, www.IKEA.ph, is expected to cater to over 6 million Filipinos in the greater Manila area, he said.

IKEA Southeast Asia said it is spending P7 billion for the store and will hire 500 Filipinos from top level management to cashiers. Recruitment details will be posted on its website, he added. 

Future IKEA Philippines Store Manager Georg Platzer during the press launch of the IKEA store at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, November 20, 2018. Image: George Calvelo / ABS-CBN News
Future IKEA Philippines Store Manager Georg Platzer during the press launch of the IKEA store at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, November 20, 2018. Image: George Calvelo / ABS-CBN News

 

When asked whether there will be more stores in the country, Platzer said "after we get our learnings we'd soon expand that so, of course, the idea is that one day, we'll have good service to the Philippines." 

"It's a 120 million country. I came from Austria with 8 million people. We have 7 stores. Now you do your calculations," Platzer said.

IKEA operates 422 stores in 50 markets.


Source : ABS-CBN

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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