Bucharest City Hall has approved Ikea’s plans to build a 37,000 sqm store on Theodor Pallady boulevard. The store, which will be built on stilts, is scheduled to open by the end of 2018. The Swedish retailer’s long-term plans for the Romanian market include opening an additional eight stores.
“We have not yet decided in what city will we open our first store outside the capital, but we estimate that it will happen in 2021. We are currently looking for land. Depending on what we find, we will see how we are going to invest in these stores. Usually, the budget for opening an Ikea store is between €40m and €100m,” said Stefan Vanoverbeke, retail manager of Ikea South-Eastern Europe.
