IKEA Centres was at RECon seeking retailers for 25 additional retail centers it plans to open in China and Europe by 2025. This will bring its total to 70 across 15 countries.
The company, which is owned by IKEA Group, currently operates 45 centers in Russia, China and Europe. It has made a specialty of entering and operating in challenging markets — the company has 14 centers in Russia alone, under the Mega brand.
Its centers can serve as a gateway to foreign markets for U.S. and other retailers, IKEA notes.
“IKEA Centres provides U.S. retailers with a secure international expansion route into countries like Russia and China, where many of the legal and cultural barriers to entry have already been negotiated by IKEA,” the company said in a press release. “IKEA Centres’ 14 Russian retail destinations, operated under the brand name Mega, have provided a number of significant expansion opportunities for U.S. brands in the past three years.”
In China IKEA is developing three projects — in the cities of Changsha, Shanghai and Xi’an — comprising nearly 5 million square feet of gross leasable area, in the aggregate. The company already operates three IKEA-anchored centers in China, under the Livat name, in Bejing, Wuhan and Wuxi.
In China IKEA is developing three projects — in the cities of Changsha, Shanghai and Xi’an — comprising nearly 5 million square feet of gross leasable area, in the aggregate
The $650 million center in Changsha, in eastern China, will also feature offices and apartments, as will the $1.1 billion project in Shanghai. The $630 million Xi’an center will have retail and offices.
IKEA’s existing centers in Europe and China attract 460 million visitors each year and are home to some 50 U.S. brands, including Apple, Panda Express, Taco Bell, Tommy Hilfiger and Victoria’s Secret.
The company is spending $2.4 billion to roll out more Mega centers in Russia and to upgrade its existing portfolio there. Its plans are to build centers in cities with populations of 500,000 or more.
“We are very excited about our expansion programs in China and Russia that truly will create next-generation meeting places that shopping is just one part of,” said Carsten Heidtmann, global leasing director at IKEA Centres, in a statement released at RECon 2018. “We look forward to discussing the opportunities these new projects will provide with American retailers during our time here. However, discussing the benefits of international expansion across our existing portfolio will also be high on our agenda.”
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
