Manila, Philippines – IKEA, the Swedish brand which opened its first store in 1943, is set to open its first physical and e-commerce store in the Philippines at the SM Mall of Asia on November 25, 2021. The brand known for its well-designed and affordable home furnishings is planned to have about 65,000 square meters of space near the Pasay City giant mall.
The company responsible for the brand launched a pre-opening website at the event they hosted for government officials, media, online content creators, the corporate circle and colleagues.
Christian Rojkjaer, Managing Director for IKEA Southeast Asia claims that they’re committed to bringing to the Philippines their brand that is known by many around the world for its durable, stylish, and affordable designs. He also stated that the brand has around 9,000 quality home furnishings for Filipino consumers. He said that IKEA Philippines is set to make the lives of Filipino buyers better!
The IKEA PH 68,000 square-meter store is likely the size of 150 basketball court which is about double the size of the ‘typical IKEA big blue box. Aside from its shop and restaurant, the building will have a call center and a big warehouse to accommodate its e-commerce platform. This is to allow people in Greater Manila to shop online.
Both the showroom and market hall will display over 8,000 IKEA products, including furniture, home decors, appliances, and more.
The initial investment for this project is Php7B and the company is hiring about 500 Filipino co-workers and other spin-off jobs and business opportunities. They’re also looking to partner with local food suppliers, transport and logistics, security and waste management, business owners, etc.
The IKEA PH store is where Filipino families and individuals can find everyday items such as candles, cookware, and kitchen items, and other furnishings. They offer sustainable products like LED lights and recyclable items. The huge space of their store will be an inspiration for many Filipinos as they plan to put enough room settings to serve as guides for homeowners. IKEA Philippines MOA has a self-serve warehouse which means when you see something, you get it, pay for it and take it home because their products are already flat-packed.
Other parts of the gigantic store are their playroom where parents can entrust their children while they shop because it’s a supervised area.
One of the highlights of IKEA’s history is the time when a co-worker removed the legs of furniture to transport it through a car. It was then that they discovered about flat-packs and have been using it ever since. There are 422 IKEA stores having operations in 50 countries and they have 208,000 co-workers worldwide. In 2016, the first IKEA office in the Philippines opened in Makati, and in 2018, they finally announced their entry to the Philippine market. The franchisee of IKEA is IKEA Southeast Asia. The franchise company has the right to own and operate in countries Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.
How about IKEA Food?
IKEA PH will also have its famous food outlets and a restaurant where families and friends can eat together after shopping. So Yes! to Meatballs and all IKEA food favorites. The restaurant aims to accommodate 850 seating capacity under COVID-19 protocols.
I guess the only question is, Are they going to offer food delivery as well?
How to visit IKEA Pasay?
To strictly follow government safety protocols, IKEA limits the number of foot traffic per day. Customers can book a time slot for their visit via the IKEA Philippines website. Each customer can book up to 3 guests and will be issued a digital token.
IKEA Philippines Careers and Job Opportunities
To know more about IKEA’s products, job opportunities, and other updates, you can visit www.IKEA.ph.
Also Read: IKEA Philippines to Open Two Stores in Metro Manila Soon