Ikea to open more stores in Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines — Swedish furniture retailer Ikea Philippines plans to open more stores in Metro Manila in the coming years.

“It’s clear that one store alone will not be enough. The Pasay City store is the beginning for Ikea in the Philippines. There’s the possibility of more stores to come. It’s just a matter of time,” Ikea Philippines manager Georg Platzer told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

He said more stores are certainly needed in Metro Manila alone given the metropolis’ big and growing market. “So we need to have a second and maybe even a third store in Metro Manila to provide the needs of the growing number of consumers,”Platzer said.

Platzer, however, stressed that there is no specific timing yet or location as to where the company would like to expand to.

He said that in Austria, where he is from, Ikea has seven stores that serve the country’s nine million population.

He said that Metro Manila has an even bigger population at around 13 million. “I don’t know if it’s going to be one, two, three or four stores, but I can tell you there will be a need for expansion in the Philippines. That’s clear, that’s crystal clear as water,” Platzer said.Asked if the company is also eyeing to expand in areas outside Metro Manila, Platzer said “if we reach a certain amount of visitations.”

He also said the company is looking to expand the fulfillment areas of its online store.

“Definitely when it comes to online, we are about to stretch our fulfillment areas. Now we are just Metro Manila, Batangas and Pampanga. But in the future, we are going to serve more of the islands. So that customers from Iloilo to Leyte can also order online,”Platzer said.

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The article was originally published in PhilStar Global and written by Catherine Talavera.