Swedish furniture giant IKEA started the construction of its fourth store in Malaysia, with the outlet in Batu Kawan, Penang targeted for completion by early-2019.
“It will be easy for millions of people to access the thousands of functional, affordable home-furnishing products we have in our IKEA range — not to mention our Swedish meatballs!” said Christian Rojkjaer, the firm’s managing director for Southeast Asia.
The 433,000 sq ft IKEA Batu Kawan is located within Aspen Vision City, an integrated project that also consists of parkland, condominiums and a financial hub. The home furnishing shop is the first-of-its-kind in Northern Malaysia and is within an hour’s drive from approximately 825,000 households.
“We have seen people from Penang driving more than 350km to shop at IKEA in Kuala Lumpur. This store in Batu Kawan will make it easy for them to come for a great day out,” he noted.
According to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, the IKEA store is anticipated to attract millions of shoppers, investors and tourists to Batu Kawan, as well as generate hundreds of employment and business opportunities.
“Attracting IKEA to our state has long been a key part of our plan to make Penang an international and intelligent state that is also an attractive destination where people live, learn, work and play.”
In fact, IKEA Batu Kawan store manager Pathmalingam Arumugam revealed that they will employ more than 300 locals before the outlet’s grand opening.
The upcoming branch will feature over 50 room sets to inspire people with ways to decorate and furnish their homes, a free children’s playground, lots of affordable home products, and IKEA food, one of which is the company’s famous Swedish meatballs.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s third IKEA store at Tebrau in Johor Bahru is expected to open later this year, while IKEA Cheras in Kuala Lumpur and IKEA Damansara in Petaling Jaya are already operating.
Image sourced from IKEA and Wikimedia.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
For the latest property news, trends, resources and expert opinions, visit our Property News section. Home buyers, sellers or property renters looking for Malaysian Properties, may like to visit the New Launches or Project Reviews page.
