Ikea Announces Dev Approval For Third Store In Melbourne

IKEA to build Australia's largest retail store in Melbourne's North

MELBOURNE: Leading home furnishings retailer, IKEA, confirmed today's announcement by the Premier of Victoria that development plans for a new IKEA store have been approved for Campbellfield.

IKEA Property and Expansion Manager, Richard Ansell, said IKEA was extremely pleased with the Brumby Government's decision to approve the new IKEA store in Melbourne.

"At 41,000 square metres the Campbellfield store will be Australia's largest IKEA store and the largest free-standing store in the southern hemisphere. Today's approval will not only make Melbourne the first city in Australia to have three IKEA stores, it will also create 400 ongoing jobs in Melbourne's north."

"The approval paves the way for IKEA to commence development of the new store which will be situated on the former Pipeworks site on the Western Ring Road", explained Mr Ansell.

Located 14km north of Melbourne, the Campbellfield IKEA store will operate alongside the existing store in Richmond and the current development in Springvale. It will bring the total number of IKEA stores in Australia to eight[1].

Mr Ansell said the size and location of the new store would improve IKEA's offering to its current and future Melbourne customers.

"The new Campbellfield store will be almost twice the size of the current IKEA store in Richmond and more than double the size of the MCG arena.[2] From entrance to exit the store pathway will stretch for 2.5Km.

"It will benefit our customers by providing an even wider range of well-designed products, more space to showcase our inspiring home furnishing ideas and improved accessibility for Melbournians.

"The Campbellfield store is a cornerstone of IKEA's longer-term national expansion plans which will see a further three stores open by the end of 2015, bringing a total of nine stores to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane," explained Mr Ansell.

The intention is to open the Campbellfield store in 2012, with building set to commence in 2011. The multi-million dollar development will create approximately 400 jobs and boost IKEA's national employee numbers to around 3,500.

Work at the Campbellfield site is planned to commence in mid 2011, prior to the opening of two other new IKEA stores - one in the Sydney suburb of Tempe and one in Melbourne's Springvale both scheduled to open in the latter half of 2011.

About IKEA
Customers around the world have embraced the IKEA concept since its inception over 60 years ago. IKEA is the world's largest home furnishings retailer: at the end of the 2009 financial year[3] the IKEA Group was operating 267 stores which welcomed 590 million visitors across 26 countries and employed more than 135,000 co-workers. The turnover for all IKEA stores in the 2009 financial year was 21.5 billion euros (approx A$36.6 billion).

For further media information please contact:
Jude Leon, Public Relations Manager, IKEA
Tel. (02) 8754 2442 or
0439 904 026,
Email. [email protected]

For further information on IKEA visit www.IKEA.com.au.

[1] IKEA stores in Perth and Adelaide are operated as franchise stores and are independent of the IKEA Group
[2] source: http://www.mcg.org.au
[3] The IKEA financial year runs from 1 September to 31 August.

SOURCE: IKEA