Swedish giant IKEA reveals expansion plans for the UAE, Oman, Egypt
Retail major planning to open new stores in Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Muscat as well as further plans for UAE
A second branch of IKEA is set to open in Abu Dhabi in November as part of expansion plans revealed by the company for the UAE and wider MENA region.
The store, in Al Wahda Mall, was scheduled to open in July, according to previous reports, but will now welcome customers in the fourth quarter of this year.
Vinod Jayan, managing director of Al-Futtaim IKEA, told Arabian Business the store will be spread over 2,100-2,500 square metres on the first floor of the popular mall.
He said: “This November, we are going to open our first city centre store in Abu Dhabi. The building work is going on as we speak and it’ll be on the first floor. It’s a great mall.”
It will be the second store in the UAE capital, joining the 32,000 sq m IKEA on Yas Island.
Jayan also revealed that a second store will open in the Egyptian capital Cairo at the end of March next year, while the store in Muscat, Oman, “is currently being built as we speak”, he said, and is due to open “towards the end of next year or beginning of 2022”.
And while he didn’t give exact details, Jayan intimated that further stores were planned for the UAE, including in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Northern Emirates.
He said: “We have expansion plans. The UAE is a very important market for us.
“This is a market we trust, a market we believe in and we believe there is a lot more potential.”
IKEA opened its third store in the UAE – at 35,500 sq m the largest store in Dubai – in Festival Plaza, in December, where Jayan said they welcomed around 3,500 customers inside the first three hours.
The store, in Al Wahda Mall, was scheduled to open in July, according to previous reports, but will now welcome customers in the fourth quarter of this year.
Vinod Jayan, managing director of Al-Futtaim IKEA, told Arabian Business the store will be spread over 2,100-2,500 square metres on the first floor of the popular mall.
He said: “This November, we are going to open our first city centre store in Abu Dhabi. The building work is going on as we speak and it’ll be on the first floor. It’s a great mall.”
It will be the second store in the UAE capital, joining the 32,000 sq m IKEA on Yas Island.
Jayan also revealed that a second store will open in the Egyptian capital Cairo at the end of March next year, while the store in Muscat, Oman, “is currently being built as we speak”, he said, and is due to open “towards the end of next year or beginning of 2022”.
And while he didn’t give exact details, Jayan intimated that further stores were planned for the UAE, including in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Northern Emirates.
He said: “We have expansion plans. The UAE is a very important market for us.
“This is a market we trust, a market we believe in and we believe there is a lot more potential.”
IKEA opened its third store in the UAE – at 35,500 sq m the largest store in Dubai – in Festival Plaza, in December, where Jayan said they welcomed around 3,500 customers inside the first three hours.