After years of anticipation, the wait is nearly over. IKEA is set to open in New Zealand on December 4, marking the Swedish retailer’s official arrival in Aotearoa.
For those familiar with the furniture giant from overseas, the Auckland store will have the same walk-through format that has made IKEA a global staple, but with several home turf twists.
The 34,000m2 store will offer roughly 7500 products, from its popular flatpack furniture sets to smaller, everyday household necessities.
The building will span three floors – two levels of retail and a bottom-level car park, as well as a restaurant and bistro – and will be accessible from within the Sylvia Park shopping mall.
Take a look inside the Swedish giant’s store in Sylvia Park, Auckland. (Source: Seven Sharp)
Inside, the store’s showroom will showcase fully styled spaces, from family-sized kitchens and children’s bedrooms to small apartments and outdoor setups. The market hall is set to feature everything from textiles and cookware to lighting, décor and home organisation systems.
It will also include a self-service warehouse, allowing shoppers to take home flat-packed furniture on the day or arrange delivery.
The New Zealand store will debut a world-first IKEA restaurant concept. A 400+ seat Swedish restaurant will serve IKEA’s classic meatballs, salmon dishes and plant-based meals, alongside several meals exclusive to New Zealand.
A bistro and Swedish food market located at the store’s exit will serve cinnamon scrolls and hotdogs, as well as frozen meatballs.
Nationwide pick-up points
While Sylvia Park will be the country’s only physical place to shop, the full IKEA range will be available nationwide.
Online shopping will launch the same day as the store opening, with 29 pick-up points from Kaitaia to Invercargill, meaning Kiwis across the country will have the chance to get their hands on the much-loved Swedish furniture sets.
IKEA’s loyalty programme, IKEA Family, has already rolled out nationwide, offering members exclusive discounts and early updates ahead of opening day.
New Zealand Market Manager Johanna Cederlöf said the team had been “counting down the days” to opening, calling it a long-awaited milestone.
“It’s very exciting for us. For many shoppers, this will be their first time inside an IKEA store,” she said. “We are excited to see how Kiwis fall in love with us and how they interact with us.”
To better understand the New Zealand market, IKEA conducted more than 500 home visits across the country to get to know how locals live, including daily routines, storage habits and space use.
Cederlöf said the visits highlighted New Zealand’s “diverse ways of living” – with many households having a strong focus on sustainability and maximising storage space.
One unique Kiwi quirk different from anywhere else in the world was the role of the garage.
“We noticed there are more garages here than almost anywhere else in the world,” she said, with many Kiwi households using them as multipurpose areas for storage, laundry and work.
Opening-week rush expected
More than 500 staff, known as ‘coworkers’ to reflect IKEA’s family ethos, are focused on final preparations ahead of the expected opening-week rush.
“It’s been a huge effort to get everything ready,” Cederlöf said. “The team have been working very hard to make this happen.”
Founded in Sweden in 1943, the retailer has grown into a global household name, known for its flatpack furniture, minimalist design and walk-through room displays.
Operating in 63 markets, the IKEA brand is operated by several companies with different owners. The New Zealand operation is run by Ingka Group, which represents about 90% of IKEA sales.
IKEA has not confirmed plans for any additional New Zealand stores, saying it will monitor how shoppers use the Sylvia Park store and online service before deciding on future expansion, but it noted the strong response ahead of the opening is a promising sign.
For now, all eyes are on opening day, where Kiwis will get their long-awaited first look at the experience that has made IKEA a global staple for more than eight decades.
IKEA opens on December 4 in Sylvia Park, Auckland, and online everywhere in New Zealand.
This story is sponsored by IKEA