Ikea, the iconic Swedish homefurnishings company, plans to invest another Bt6 billion in Thailand to open its second and third stores in western and northern Bangkok in the near future.
Both new stores, which will be opened within the next five years, are anticipated to be similar in size to the first Bangkok Ikea in Bang Na, which will have 43,000 square metres of total retail space when it opens late this year.
The move is in line with the company’s ambition to become the No 1 homefurnishing company in Thailand.
Ikea Bangna is 100 per cent owned by Ikano. Mega Bangna, the mall it will anchor, is 49 per cent owned by Ikano and 49 per cent by Siam Future Development.
In addition to Thailand, Ikea plans to open its second store in Kuala Lumpur within the next two years, while the third store will be opened at Johor Bahru, Malaysia’s secondlargest city, within the next three to four years.
Tom Huzell, managing director of Ikano Retail Asia, the Ikea franchisee holding licences for Ikea in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, said the company expected to open its second Ikea store in Bangkok within the next three years. Meanwhile, the first store is anticipated to reach annual visitor traffic of 6 million people within the same threeyear period.
