The Swedish homeware retailer, Ikea, has announced that it will open a branch in New Zealand.
It plans to offer online and in-store trading throughout New Zealand, but will start in Auckland. Ikea has been discussing moving to New Zealand for some time, but the problem has been finding suitable land. The New Zealand Herald reported that Ikea’s first shop will need more than five hectares. That is bigger than a whole shopping mall.
The store will create jobs for New Zealanders, but there will not be any locally-made items for sale. Ikea is known for designing its products in Sweden and then having them manufactured in places where wages are lower. This way, high quality items can be supplied at a fairly low cost. Most of the furniture is flat-pack. This means that the buyer has to assemble the furniture at home; another way to save money on labour and shipping costs.
Ikea was founded in 1943, and now has more than 200,000 staff working in shops in 49 different countries. It has recently opened shops in India, and announced plans to open shops in Manila and Tokyo.
It would appear that in a time when people say that the retail business is struggling, Ikea is thriving.
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