Swedish furniture giant Ikea has just opened its largest branch in the world in the Mall of Asia shopping centre near the Philippine capital Manila.
65.000 sq m
This branch is Ikea‘s first store in the Philippines. The store has a surface area of approximately 65,000 sq m and should have been ready last year. But due to the Covid pandemic and the disruption of the supply chain of building materials, the construction experienced delays, writes Dutch news channel Nieuws.nl.
The Mall of Asia is one of the largest shopping centres in the world and is located near a district with several large casinos. The region is currently subject to fairly strict Covid measures, requiring customers to make bookings in advance. Apparently, this does not deter the locals, as the new Ikea store is already fully booked for the next two weeks.
Expansion continues
Incidentally, the Swedish furniture chain not only sees growth opportunities in Asia. Next spring, the opening of the first South American store is on the agenda. The branch will be located in the Chilean capital Santiago. Worldwide, Ikea already has over 460 stores.
