Ikea to open its first Japanese store in April 2006

Jun 16, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Leading furniture retailer, Ikea Group, is now set to launch its first Japanese outlet in April 2006. The Swedish firm originally eyed an opening this September, but delays in construction of its procurement base in Shanghai forced a schedule change. The procurement site will likely be completed this fall. The planned outlet will open on the former site of an indoor ski slope in Chiba Prefecture. With a floor space of 23,500 square metres, the store will be one of the largest furniture outlets in Japan, selling some 10,000 items. To be operated by wholly owned subsidiary Ikea Japan KK, the new location will also house a Swedish restaurant and a cafe, as well as a warehouse. Ikea has also bought properties in Yokohama and Kobe to debut stores in those locations by the autumn of 2006 and the summer of 2009, respectively. This will actually be Ikea's second foray into Japan. It formed a local arm in 1974, but walked away from the market in 1983.