Filipino home improvement enthusiasts will have to wait a while before they get to walk the confusing halls of furniture store IKEA, but they can look forward to shopping for wares online sooner than expected as the Swedish brand is set to open up an online shop ahead of its physical store opening in 2021.
IKEA "is bringing Swedish home furnishings and meatballs to millions more people in the coming year as it enters both Mexico and the Philippines, with web shops opening up months before the physical stores in both countries," according to a statement on its regional website.
The world's largest IKEA store was slated for a 2021 opening in Manila and was "designed from the start to house an ecommerce fulfilment operation and a customer contact centre." It's reported to to have a play area, a restaurant, and over 9,000 products to choose from.
IKEA said it suffered losses during the first half of the year due to the pandemic, but a burgeoning interest in home improvement and demand for online shopping kept it afloat and fast-tracked its digital transformation.
The IKEA Philippines website said the Manila outpost of the popular Swedish brand is under construction at the Mall of Asia, with the intent of allowing visitors to fully enjoy the IKEA shopping experience. The store will open soon, allowing buyers to purchase goods from the comfort of their own homes.
