The cat is finally out of the Frakta.
Multinational Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA has ended the guessing games and officially announced last week its entry to the Philippine market. Slated to open at the SM Mall of Asia complex in late 2020, the country’s first branch will also be the company’s largest at 65,000 square meters, almost twice the size of a standard store.
“We don’t think anybody’s going to make a bigger one,” IKEA Southeast Asia Managing Director Christian Rojkjaer said during the launch. “We have the space to be the best we can be, and we have it right here in Manila.”
IKEA has 422 branches in 50 countries as of August this year. The company’s massive global presence translates to brand awareness locally, with about 13 percent of people in Greater Metro Manila already familiar with IKEA, according to the company’s Market Development Manager Georg Platzer, also the future IKEA store manager in Manila who has been working on the store opening for two-and-a-half years now.
Platzer said the remaining population unfamiliar with IKEA has two things to know about the brand. First, going to an IKEA showroom, web site, or even mobile app is “like going to a giant furniture exhibition.” The Philippine branch, with the size of about 150 basketball courts, will carry over 9,000 products.
Second, Platzer emphasized IKEA’s “Democratic Design,” or the belief that good home furnishing is for everyone. He said the idea is carried out in every IKEA product through five principles:
- FORM: The time it takes for a product to go from a designer’s drawing board to stores is roughly two years, according to Platzer. Each design goes through a rigorous set of standards, including the eye test.“Our products should help make homes a little more beautiful,” he said.
- FUNCTION: What good is beauty without anything else, especially purpose? Platzer said IKEA products should make life at home a little easier and more comfortable. “We learn about people’s needs and we design products with the function in mind, so that things in your home work the way you want them to.”
- QUALITY: IKEA tests its items to ensure that they meet the highest standards for safety and durability—not only to last, but to “age gracefully,” as well. According to Platzer, IKEA has even ramped up measures to guarantee that their products can hold up with the humidity in Southeast Asia.
- SUSTAINABLE: “We find creative ways to make more from less,” Platzer said. This means products are made with as few raw materials as possible. IKEA product developers look for materials that are renewable, recycled or recyclable, and work with people on the factory floor to find smart production solutions.Another point of emphasis: Products should contribute to a sustainable life at home. For one, items should help in saving water or electricity.
- AFFORDABLE: Platzer noted that usually, well-designed, quality home furnishings are exclusive. IKEA, he said, is different. “Our designers begin with the price in mind from the very start. We always strive to offer the lowest prices in the market to make sure that our range is affordable to as many people as possible.”
As Rojkjaer put it, IKEA is for everyone, from those who have a thick wallet to those who have a thin one, from big families to small families. “We are for everybody.”
Meanwhile, Rojkjaer, who also owns IKEA stores in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, explained that IKEA took their time in establishing their presence in the Philippines to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Now that a date has been set, he underscored the brand’s commitment to the market: “Once IKEA commits to something, we commit a long, long time.”
The executive also left the door open on the possibility of establishing more IKEA stores in the Philippines, but maintained that the company’s current focus on the local market is the opening of its largest branch in the world, which will rise between the SM Mall of Asia Arena and the SMX Convention Center.
According to SM Supermalls Chief Operating Officer Steven Tan, the brand will be their biggest tenant ever, adding that their partnership is “a marriage with no divorce.”
IKEA Southeast Asia is making an initial investment of around P7 billion to fit out, stock, market and staff the first store for its opening. Only two of IKEA Philippines’s five floors will be allocated for brick-and-mortar retail, while the rest will house a call center and a supersized warehouse to accommodate e-commerce operations.
“The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people,” Rojkjaer said. “We are excited to be bringing our offer to a country where millions of people share our passion for home.”
