IKEA is ready to rule the flat-pack furniture and Swedish meatball market in the US with an announcement Thursday that it would open 17 new stores here. Chain owner Ingka Holding BV said it will spend just over $2 billion by 2026 on the stores and on boosting its delivery systems, reports the Wall Street Journal. Ingka retail head Tolga Öncü indicated that the company sees "endless opportunities" for growth in the US and is ready to "increase the density of" its presence.
According to USA Today, IKEA US CEO Javier Quiñones indicated that his company hasn't settled on store locations but is ready to add both new stores in cities that don't yet have them and extra IKEAs in markets that already have access to one. Quiñones added that "this is only the beginning," and the company expects "to see many more IKEAs in many new formats closer to people." Reuters notes that the company, which first opened an American location in 1985, is planning eight large IKEAs and nine small stores.
Lowered consumer spending has hit major chains like Walmart and Wayfair hard, causing job loss and shuttered locations. Reuters sees an opportunity there for IKEA to grab cheaper store and warehouse space as a result. "There are locations available that have not been available before," says Öncü. The company will add 2,000 new jobs with its expanded presence, which will up IKEA's US footprint by about a third. (More Ikea stories.)
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