Ikea’s long-term plans for the Romanian market include opening eight more stores in the country. The Swedish furniture giant plans to secure a building permit this month for its second Bucharest store. “We chose Bucharest for this investment as it is the largest market in the region with 4 million consumers. Although purchasing power is lower than in Slovenia, for example, the market in number of users is higher,” said Stefan Vanoverbeke, retail manager of Ikea South-Eastern Europe. The 36,000 sqm store with underground parking is expected to open at the end of 2018.
“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,” Vanoverbeke said.
