IKEA - IKEA Stores

IKEA Stores

The first Möbel-IKÉA store was opened in Älmhult, Småland in 1953, while the first stores outside Sweden were opened in Norway (1963) and Denmark (1969). The stores spread to other parts of Europe in the 1970s, with the first store outside Scandinavia opening in Switzerland (1973), followed by Germany (1974).

Things were going so well for the company, that in 1973, the company's German executives accidentally opened a store in Konstanz when they had meant to open one in Koblenz. Later that decade, stores opened in other parts of the world, including Japan (1974), Australia and Hong Kong (1975), Canada (1976) and Singapore (1978). IKEA further expanded in the 1980s, opening stores in France & Spain (1981), Belgium (1984), the United States (1985), the United Kingdom (1987) and Italy (1989) among other areas. The company expanded into more countries in the 1990s and 2000s. Germany, with 44 stores, is IKEA's biggest market, followed by the United States, with 37. At the end of 2009 financial year, the IKEA group had 267 stores in 25 countries. The first IKEA store in Latin America opened on February 17, 2010 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. However, the company has thus far not shown much of a presence in the developing countries.

The world's five largest IKEA stores are:

1. Stockholm Kungens Kurva, Sweden: 55,200 m2
2. Shanghai, China: 49,400 m2
3. Shenyang, China: 47,000 m2
4. Tianjin, China: 45,736 m2
5. Berlin Lichtenberg, Germany: 45,000 m2

The biggest store in the Southern Hemisphere is in Tempe, Sydney, Australia: 39000 m2 IKEA opened its largest store in Canada on 7 December 2011. Located in Ottawa, the store has an area of 39,670 m2 By the end of 2013, IKEA plans to open its first warehouse in Croatia near Zagreb. The adjoint shopping centre, which will be constructed until 2015, will be one of the 5 biggest in Europe and among the 10 biggest IKEA stores in the world. In 2013, IKEA plans to open its first shopping centre in Vilnius, Lithuania that will be the biggest furniture-selling mall in Baltic states.