Ikea is planning to invest more than US$2.2 billion in an omnichannel expansion strategy in the US over the next three years.
According to Ikea, this is the company’s largest investment in the US in four decades, and it will focus on creating new stores and expanding fulfilment networks to serve more Americans.
Ikea will build new shops and extend its fulfilment network to give better delivery alternatives and provide a product range that matches the demands of everyday living in diverse regions across the country as part of the investment.
“The US is one of our most important markets, and we see endless opportunities to grow there and get closer to the many Americans with affordable products and services,” said Tolga Oncu, head of Ikea Retail at Ingka Group.
“More than ever before, we want to increase the density of our presence in the US, ramp up our fulfilment capacities and make our offer even more relevant to local customers’ needs and dreams.”
Ikea expects to open eight additional shops, nine Plan & Order points, and create more than 2000 jobs during this first phase of expansion. In addition, Ikea will build 900 new Pick-up locations where customers can pick up purchases made online.
Last year, Ikea US has added 15 customer Pick-up locations and two Plan & Order stations to make Ikea more accessible to customers. This summer, the company also announced new locations in San Francisco, CA and Arlington, VA.
“We are committed to continuing to grow in this market with our thousands of co-workers and millions of customers who look to Ikea for home furnishing inspiration and solutions at an affordable price,” added Javier Quinones, CEO & chief sustainability officer at Ikea US.
Ikea says this latest investment will forward that work by continuing to modernise existing locations to serve a dual purpose: offering inspiration and home furnishing knowledge while also expanding handling capacity for parcel deliveries directly from the store.
Neil Saunders, MD at consultancy GlobalData, said an investment of Ikea’s scale “should make other retailers sit up and take notice”.
“As the largest furniture retailer in the world, Ikea has economies of scale and volumes that allow it to offer value that few others can match. The expansion is a potential threat to Wayfair, At Home and other many mass-market players. While it will take time for Ikea to execute its plans, it is clear that a previously sleepy giant has woken up and is intent on making its mark.”
Saunders said that while the US is one of Ikea’s biggest international markets, the company’s reach there has always been relatively poor compared to its core European markets.
“Part of this is the result of Ikea’s traditional model of huge stores designed to pull in customers from an extremely large catchment. These work well in population-dense countries like the UK, but are less effective in the US where, outside of cities, people are more scattered and drive times can be extensive.”
