IKEA: We''ll be in Bucharest in 2007

Swedish giant Ikea, the largest furniture retailer in the world, has officially confirmed the opening of an office in Bucharest for the first time. “There are plans for Ikea to open its first franchised store in Romania in 2007-2008, but I cannot provide any more details about that for the time being,” stated Hendrik Notmeijer, trading area manager of the Romanian representative office of Ikea Trading Und Design AG. He did not care to provide further details about the location of the store. A number of possible locations have been mentioned on the market, with one of them being announced by the representatives of the Baneasa shopping complex. “To Ikea, Romania is a very interesting area that benefits from plenty of raw materials and a very well trained work force. We see lots of possibilities for us here,” specified Notmeijer. Ikea only has a representative office in Romania at the moment, and buys furniture from this market for all its stores worldwide. ZF