Swedish furniture giant IKEA has revealed the opening date for country’s flagship store in Auckland.
This morning, it announced the store in Auckland’s Sylvia Park would open to the public on December 4.
First look inside IKEA’s Auckland store as opening date revealed – see more on TVNZ+
In July, the company signalled it would be open in time for the busy Christmas shopping period.
Mirja Viinanen, chief executive and chief sustainability officer for IKEA Australia and New Zealand, said: “I’m proud we can finally deliver the good news to New Zealanders that exactly three months from today, on December 4, IKEA will open its doors, both physically and online.
“We appreciate the excitement shown by Kiwis and are grateful for the country’s patience as we have been busy laying the foundations of our first home in Aotearoa.”
She said the store had received 25,000 applications to fill approximately 500 roles.
“It has been positive all the way through,” she said.
She said there was the possibility of more physical stores to be opened in the future, but said their main focus was the Auckland store and to “get it right”.
“Of course, there’s an opportunity perhaps in the future of more physical locations as well, although we are already accessible across the whole country in Aotearoa because of our online business.”
Construction on the 34,000 square-metre store began in June 2023, and progress on the store has been watched with much anticipation.
Work was completed on an external warehouse near Auckland Airport in December last year.
IKEA New Zealand market manager Johanna Cederlöf came to New Zealand specifically to lead the opening of the first store.
She said: “My team and I are eagerly counting down the days until December 4 when we will welcome our first New Zealand customers.
“For many, it will be their very first experience of what it is like being in an IKEA store – surrounded by inspiring home furnishing solutions, tailored to New Zealand homes and the way we live.”
She revealed the company would be offering a buy-back service for second hand IKEA furniture from the first day.
“We want to take care that if a customer doesn’t want their IKEA furniture or they want to change it, they can bring it back to IKEA store and we will give them a gift card and someone else can buy the furniture for their new home.”
These products would be checked over, repaired if required and then be available for customers to buy second hand at a reduced price.
PM says NZ should remain ‘competitive’
Following a tour around the giant store, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spoke about the benefits to New Zealand’s business sector with the creation of jobs and market competition.
“It’s a great company, and I’ve actually studied it just from a company point of view and it’s just got an awesome culture, great management team, outstanding supply chain and it’s just a business model that enables to get the balance between design and value for money really well, so it’s just an interesting business case study too.
“I think Kiwis are going to love it, and the model is such that you can come to the super store here, see the product, book it online then get it delivered through Mainfreight’s distribution system, get it delivered to home, or 29 places up and down the country. I think it will benefit all New Zealanders, not just Aucklanders,” he said.
He said the Government was working hard to “get rid of the red tape” through changes to Resource Management Act and Overseas Investment Act to allow companies to build infrastructure faster.
“There’s lots of countries that want IKEAs to come to them, lots of cities around the world that want them to come here, so we have to be competitive and we really have to make that process as simple and as easy as possible for them to want to continue to invest in our country.”
Warehouse: ‘IKEA will make us better, move faster’
In a statement, The Warehouse Group chief executive Mark Stirton said “fierce global players like IKEA will make us better, move faster, and learn more”.
“We expect new retailers entering the market to grow the sector. We’re already reshaping our product offerings to better compete and scaling the ranges our customers are responding well to.
“As a one-stop shop with something for everyone and a strong store footprint, we’re ready to adapt quickly to new demands and competition,” he said.
In August, the company offered a first glimpse at some of the most popular products that would be on offer at the new store.
The products were selected after IKEA commissioned a Life at Home Report New Zealand, which delved into what Kiwis want to see on its shelves.
Items included a Mackapär shoe rack, Kallax shelving unit, Billy bookcase, Uppdatera storage box and Ikea 365+ food storage.
The store was also expected to have the staple Swedish dishes featured in its restaurants abroad, including the popular Swedish meatballs.
The New Zealand operation would be run by Ingka Group, which represented about 90% of IKEA stores globally.
