Swedish giant IKEA, the world's leading furniture retailer, will have employed 400 members of staff in Romania by next spring, when it will open its first outlet on the local market.
"Our team currently numbers almost 30 people, but when our store opens, we will reach a staff of 400," said Cornel Oprisan, retail manager of IKEA Romania.
IKEA will mark its entry onto the domestic market with the construction of its first outlet, built on two storeys and covering approximately 26,000 square metres, in the commercial area of Baneasa, located in the northern part of Bucharest.
The Swedish company may also consider opening a second store on the local market over the next couple of years.
"IKEA's plans are still not definite in Romania, but, depending on the results of the first outlet, we may open a new store. For the time being, we will focus almost exclusively on the first store in Bucharest," Cornel Oprisan stated.
Oprisan mentioned that the decision to open a second IKEA store in Romania will only be made after results from the first outlet have been scrutinised.
The IKEA concept is based on accessible and easy-to-assemble products. Like the other IKEA stores worldwide, the Romanian-based outlet is franchised. In this case - by Moaro Trading SRL, under the terms of an agreement sealed with Inter IKEA Systems B.V, the owner of the IKEA concept and the only company able to grant a franchise. Representatives of the company say that only after 2-3 years the company can think about deriving profit from their outlets. According to information disclosed by IKEA representatives, the shareholders of Moaro Trading SRL are the Dutch investment consortium Engma, Turkish company Turcmall and Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
On the domestic market, IKEA will sell about 7,500 products, furniture and various home accessories and solutions. Approximately 10% of the products will be manufactured in Romania, while the remaining will be imported from worldwide suppliers.
The pricing policy IKEA will implement in Romania will be similar to that practiced worldwide, however, the company may have to alter prices to cover transportation costs that could reach 40% of a product's sale price.
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