IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer from Sweden, which has 12 stores in Japan, has decided to enter New Zealand. Construction has begun on the first store, which is scheduled to open in late 2025.
The first store was Sylvia Park
The first IKEA New Zealand store, for which the groundbreaking ceremony was just held the other day, will be built in Sylvia Park, a suburb of Auckland. Sylvia Park is the largest office and commercial facility in New Zealand. The central area, including the residential area, is also commonly called Sylvia Park.
The first IKEA store will be 34,000 square meters in size and will be three stories tall. It will also have solar panels, charging points for electric cars, and will use 100% LED lighting. There will be an IKEA-only entrance and exit, but it will also be connected to the shopping center.
By the way, 34,000 square meters is about 70% of the size of the Tokyo Dome, but a New Zealand news program described it as "larger than three rugby fields." A fitting expression for a rugby powerhouse.
First announced in 2019
IKEA announced its expansion into New Zealand in 2019. Construction has finally begun towards the end of the first half of 2023.
There are already 10 stores in neighboring Australia, with the first one opening nearly 50 years ago.
The opening was eagerly anticipated, with a Facebook page called "BringIkea to NZ" gaining nearly 20,000 likes. Incidentally, the name of this page has now been changed to "Ikea is coming to NZ."
According to IKEA, it took a long time to decide on a site, and the start of construction was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19.
The construction of this first New Zealand store is said to be the most expensive and took the longest time in the world.
Will prices of NZ furniture fall overall?
IKEA is popular for being able to purchase high-quality, well-designed items at low prices. IKEA has stated that its expansion into New Zealand could lower the overall price of furniture.
There is a big gap between what people want and the price of furniture on the market. IKEA's philosophy is "To make everyday life better for the many people." (The people IKEA refers to) are those who cannot spend a large budget on furniture.
The first Costco store in New Zealand just opened in October last year. There was news that food prices had temporarily dropped at nearby supermarkets, but this was apparently only a limited effect.
What will happen to the furniture...?
When Costco opened, there were huge queues and it became a big topic of conversation. Ikea will no doubt have queues as well.
By the way, IKEA has remained tight-lipped about expanding into New Zealand, but it seems that urban stores like those in Harajuku, Shibuya and Shinjuku are also on the list.
And on the IKEA side:
We would like to choose a location that will allow as many people as possible to visit the store. We will probably wait and see market trends for a while.
He stated:
