IKEA To Carry On Plan To Open 3rd Outlet in Sโ€™pore Despite Heavy Losses

When IKEA says theyโ€™re opening a new store at JEM, westies be like:

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But then, Covid-19 hits.

Will IKEA still continue with its plans now? Will I finally have IKEA meatballs within 15 minutes of my house?

After all, as my colleague previously mentioned, trying to open a business in Singapore is risky. Trying to do it while itโ€™s Covid-19?

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Well, guess what? IKEA isnโ€™t going to stop its plan to open a third outlet at JEM.

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IKEA To Carry On Plan To Open 3rd Outlet in Sโ€™pore Despite Heavy Losses

Mr Sebastian Hylving, Ikea property and expansion director for South-east Asia and Mexico, said that thereโ€™s a special place in IKEAโ€™s heart for Singapore.

Based on their own survey, IKEA is more known here than in any country around the world.

Their two stores, Alexandra and Tampines, get about seven million visits every year.

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As far back as 2015, IKEA has been thinking of expanding in Singapore as they saw the potential for growth.

Mr Jaap Doornbos, Ikea retail director for Singapore and Vietnam, pointed out that Covid-19 has hit IKEA the hardest in its 40 years of operations here.

Yes, worse than the global financial crisis and SARS.

The company has made revenue losses โ€œstacked up in the millionsโ€.

Despite all that, Mr Doornbos said that IKEA can โ€œweather through these tough times better than anybodyโ€ and theyโ€™re going to carry on with the plan to open the third outlet.

We Know Sโ€™poreans Still Want The Experience Of Shopping At IKEA

Covid-19 hasnโ€™t been all bad.

In fact, online sales have โ€œmore than tripledโ€ in the past two months and the sales of home office products like chairs and desks shot up by 31 per cent.

Mr Doornbos said that the increase in online sales is likely to be โ€œlastingโ€.

However, IKEA still wants to give Singaporeans the experience of shopping at their stores, whether it be testing out the sofa and chairs, talk to IKEA staff about their home furnishing dreams or just to lie on the bed.

He added that they (IKEA) strongly believe that having a third outlet will bring an added convenience to the customers, allowing them to โ€œdrop in and shop on the spotโ€.

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So whatโ€™s in store for you (pun intended) for IKEAโ€™s third outlet?

IKEAโ€™s Upcoming Outlet At JEM

With Robinsonโ€™s moving out of JEM due to unsustainable losses, many were wondering which business will be taking over the massive space.

Reader Bao: A major Gong Cha outlet that sells chicken wings? Turns out, itโ€™s something better, at least for ball lovers out there.

IKEA revealed that they are going to move in and operate a โ€œsmallerโ€ IKEA store format.

The outlet is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2021 and will offer IKEAโ€™s full range of products.

It will not, however, have a built-in warehouse or play area for parents to leave their kids at while they have their couple moments.

Although, letโ€™s be honest here, we only care if thereโ€™s a restaurant. There is.

This will be the first time IKEA is trying a store-within-a-shopping-mall concept in the entire region.

Only their stores at Moscow and Macau has similar concepts right now.

So yes, IKEA meatballs are still coming to the west.

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