Swedish furniture store chain Ikea plans to invest €3 bn over the next few years in the construction of 20 shopping centres anchored by an Ikea store, according to Swedish media reports.
Swedish furniture store chain Ikea plans to invest €3 bn over the next few years in the construction of 20 shopping centres anchored by an Ikea store, according to Swedish media reports.
The group has established a new division, Ikea Centers, for the expansion, replacing Inter Ikea Center Group which previously managed 34 Ikea shopping centres and three million m2 of retail space across Europe, China and Russia.
The new real estate branch was launched following the acquisition by Ikea Group last December of the remaining 51% share in Inter Ikea.
In an interview with Swedish business paper Dagens Industri, Ikea Centers’ CEO John Tegnèr said the company wanted to build top-level shopping centres linked directly to an Ikea store. ‘Ikea's formula is unique and its capability to draw in huge crowds, combined with large, attractive shopping centres, works really well,’ he said.
Ikea Centers owns 45 shopping centres in 11 countries, of which 14 in Russia, totalling 3 million m2 of floor space. The Russian and Chinese stores will continue to operate under their respective brand names of MEGA and LIVAT.
