Sweden-based home furnishing giant IKEA Group opened its first wholly owned manufacturing facility in China on Wednesday 28 August through subsidiary IKEA Industry Group, ChinaDaily USA reported.
The factory is going to support the rapid expansion in Asia and especially China. The manufacturing facility is located in Nantong, Jiangsu province and will supply IKEA stores, mainly in China.
“China is an important market for IKEA and we have a long-term commitment and strategic interest in this market. The role of IKEA Industry is to be better than our external suppliers by creating outstanding customer value in terms of price and quality,” said Robert Zanichelli, division manager for flatline, IKEA Industry to ChinaDaily.
“We should create capacity for growth in strategically important categories where capacity is hard to find. And we should also add production competence to IKEA and our suppliers,” he added.
As the largest sourcing country for IKEA, China accounts for 22 percent of its global purchases, with about 300 local suppliers.
“Choosing Nantong as the location for our first local production base for IKEA Industry, the world’s largest producer of wooden furniture, allows us to lower our logistics costs due to Nantong’s location near the Yangtze River,” said Zanichelli.
“The factory can support the continued work of creating great home furnishing offerings at a low cost and with the right quality.”
The factory is also not far from IKEA’s two biggest warehouses, which are in Shanghai.
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