Ikea Korea’s second store will be in Goyang, opening on October 19.
“We had heard from customers that they wanted us to come closer to them, and that sometimes our store is too crowded,” says Ikea Korea retail manager Andre Schmidtgall.
He says the store is in the finishing stages of construction and is hiring 550 employees. Ikea hopes to have six stores in Korea by 2020.
Schmidtgall says Ikea’s Gwangmyeong store ( pictured), south of Seoul, is the largest in the world. In its latest fiscal year, Ikea Korea earned revenue of 365 billion won (US$323 million), representing a 6 per cent rise, with 6.49 million visitors to the store.
There were also 38.8 million visitors to the Ikea website and mobile app, says Schmidtgall.
Slightly smaller than the existing branch, the Goyang store will offer a similar range of products but with a different layout. It is in a shopping and entertainment hot spot in the previously underserved northern suburb of Seoul. Starfield Goyang, a shopping and entertainment complex owned by Shinsegae, opened last week following a Lotte mall.
Ahead of the opening of the Goyang branch, Ikea is showcasing its new range of products for the coming year, focusing on the living room, at Bread Comma Cafe in Hongdae through to September 17.