Swedish furniture giant IKEA is embarking on a significant expansion in the U.S. Ingka Group, which owns the majority of IKEA stores and accounts for about 90% of the brand’s retail sales, revealed on Thursday its plan to invest $2.2 billion over the next three years in the U.S.
This represents the company’s largest investment in the country to date.
The company intends to both upgrade existing locations and open 17 new IKEA stores as part of the first phase of its strategy.
This expansion includes eight large-format retail stores and nine “plan and order points,” which are smaller locations where customers can receive advice and place orders for furniture.
Tolga Öncü, head of IKEA Retail at Ingka Group, mentioned that while the exact locations for the new U.S. stores are still being finalized, the company is particularly focusing on the South.
“It is in all the states across the U.S. where we see opportunities, but I would say in particular the South, where we see significant demand that we have not yet been able to meet,” Öncü said.
Öncü further stated, “The U.S. is one of our most crucial markets, and we see vast opportunities for growth there. Our goal is to get closer to many Americans by offering affordable products and services.”
In addition to the new stores, Ingka highlighted IKEA locations already planned for opening this summer in San Francisco and Arlington, Virginia.
