It will soon be possible to visit IKEA without spending an entire day wandering around a hellish labyrinth in barely contained fury. IKEA Australia has announced plans to expand around the country — with an emphasis on much smaller stores. It will also open an online store locally.
IKEA is looking to aggressively expand its presence in Australia, with plans to double its sales to $1.8 billion by 2020, reports the Australian Financial Review. In stark contrast to the monolithic stores of the past, the majority of new outlets will be “small format” buildings with a footprint that’s around two thirds smaller.
14 new stores are set to open over the next six years, at least eight of which will be pared down versions. Naturally, the smaller stores will concentrate on best-selling and new-release furniture. Other products will be available to pickup after making the purchase online. (Currently, IKEA does not have an online store, but this is set to change as part of the expansion.)
In addition to expanding its retail presence, IKEA is also planning to build two new local distribution centres. This will allow the company to increase the number of products it sells in Australia by a factor of nearly seven — this means that previously unavailable furniture will have a higher chance of making it to Australia. Hurrah!
[Via AFR]
Comments
8 responses to “IKEA Micro Stores And Online Shopping Are Coming To Australia”
Online sales. Finally. IKEA offer this in many other regions but not in Australia – browse the US site for example and you can place an order entirely online (and get it delivered from the closest warehouse for a fee if you’d like) and their site will also give you all the codes and locations to find each item in their pick-up area as well, so you can make your list, bypass the rat maze full of shambling zombies and go straight to the bit where you put stuff in a trolley and buy it.
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Finally, we are in Central NSW, and would literally buy a house worth of stuff if we could buy online or even if they would open one at Penrith or somewhere closer.
Poita old sausage, it’s another 30 or so minutes east from Penrith, but just feel like it is my duty to advise you that for years now there has been an Ikea in Rhodes near the end of the M4, which if you’re in Central NSW (Cobar? Dubbo? God knows…) is just a hop skip and jump away from westie paradise at the foot of the mountains (Penrith). Hope that is helpful info for you, for next time you visit the big smoke. Cheers mate.
Polita, your dreams are coming true! Canberra opens November 2015 with the new Majura parkway taking you right to the door of IKEA
Shop online? You alreafy can in Perth/Adelaide:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_AA/shop_online/index.html
So this is … http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_AA/shop_online/index.html ??
(clearly depends which franchise you deal with)
Yes yes yes yes!!! Hoping the postage is reasonable I can finally get that magnetic knife holder I have wanted for months.
Ikea used to have stores around the country and then they dissappeared and a big one appeared in Springvale.
Remember the “Ikea, the incredible furniture store” ads?