Although affected by the global financial crisis, the home supplies retailer Ikea does not seem to intend to slow its expansion in China and the company's vice president for Ikea China, Gillian Drakeford, revealed that Ikea's second store in Shanghai would be opened in Pudong in 2010, incerasing the total number of Ikea stores in China to ten.
In addition, having been in the Chinese market for ten years, Ikea's development in the country will enter the second phase and the company plans to tap the new shopping center model in this market.
Drakeford said that from October 2008, Ikea's sales had experienced a sudden decline. However, the company would not slow its expansion in China. She said the largest challenge for Ikea's development in China was site selection and now it was more difficult to find a good location in China. But the financial crisis would lead to more land supplies, which would provide opportunities for Ikea's development, so the company would only accelerate the opening of stores, not slow down.
Drakeford said Ikea's 47,000-square-meter store in Dalian would be opened on February 19, 2009, and its store in Shenyang and the second store in Shanghai would be opened in 2010. By then, Ikea would have ten outlets in China.
Drakeford also added that if from the year 1998 to 2010 was Ikea's first phase of development in China, the years after 2010 would be the second phase, during which, Ikea might change its business model and choose second and third-tier cities with populations between six million to ten million to open shopping centers. This means, that apart from constructing self-managed department stores, Ikea will lease its business space to other retailers to cut the costs of real estate.
Is the store in Pudong (Shanghai) opened yet? What is the address?