IKEA revenue up, plans giant store in Beijing
By Li Fangfang (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-06 10:42

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishing retailer, yesterday said that the current Madian store would make way for a giant outlet in northern Beijing.

The company said that sales revenue in China jumped 21 per cent for fiscal 2005, and revealed business plans for next year.

More than 9 million people visited its stores in Shanghai and Beijing, IKEA said.

Compared with five years ago, "sales revenue rose 34.5 per cent and sales volume grew 500 per cent. However, the success was based on price decreases of 44 per cent from 2000," said Linda Xu, public relations manager of IKEA China.

To launch new products and offer better services, "the new store will open its doors to Beijing customers next spring if everything goes smoothly. It will be the first global-standard IKEA store in Beijing," said Xu.

The new store will be located in Wangjing district near the northern section of the Fourth Ring road.

Xu also expressed optimism that it would be IKEA's second largest store in the world, behind only the one in Stockholm, Sweden.

The existing Madian store in Beijing is only 15,000 square metres with approximately 5,000 products.

It is situated beside the heavily congested north section of the Third Ring Road and customers are greatly inconvenienced by heavy traffic jams daily.

"At the Madian store, there's absolutely no space for new hardware facilities which we require to provide better service to our customers. In the Wangjing store, customers will have a choice of approximately 7,500 IKEA products," said Ulf Smedberg, marketing manager of IKEA China.

The Wangjing store would have a layout similar to the Shanghai outlet with two floors, Xu told China Daily.

Xu would not disclose the investment or other figures for the Wangjing store.

In addition, construction of IKEA's third store in China will begin in Guangzhou in the near future.

"Store and Organize", the new theme for 2006 was introduced along with a new series of products, contributing to the long-term goal of IKEA in China: to create a better everyday life for the Chinese people.

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