“Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people, so I can’t wait to open the doors of IKEA Tebrau,” Ikano Retail Asia Manager Christian Rojkjaer told the 100 or so guests who had come to celebrate the occasion.

Located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia’s second largest city, the 46,713 square metre store will be the first one outside the capital and is scheduled to open in late 2017. “More than 1.8 million people live within a 60-minute drive of this site and we hope to serve millions more from the state of Johor – and beyond!” said Christian.

IKEA’s offer of well-designed and affordable Swedish home furnishing products is being welcomed in a state with growing urbanisation and  rapid economic growth. Aside from serving customers, the new store will create more than 300 permanent jobs and generate thousands of spin-off opportunities within local services and supply businesses.

The long-term ambition is to integrate IKEA Tebrau within an Ikano shopping centre. “Together, our shopping centre and IKEA store will help make Tebrau a fantastic retail destination, welcoming the many people to shop, dine and play,” said Christian.

The Tebrau store – owned and operated by Ikano in Southeast Asia – is an integral part of our overall expansion plan. We are currently building a second IKEA store in Bangkok, Thailand, and construction is set to start in early 2017 on another store in Malaysia’s northern state of Penang.