1 week Ago By Korea Bizwire
This photo, taken April 11, 2025, and provided by IKEA Korea, shows the company’s CEO Isabel Puig (R) and IKEA Gangdong Store Manager Magnus Norberg during a press event held at the new store set to open on April 17 in eastern Seoul. (Yonhap) SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) — IKEA Korea, the South Korean operations of Swedish furniture giant IKEA, said Friday it will strengthen the “omnichannel” strategy to boost sales. IKEA Korea currently operates four outlets — three near the capital of Seoul and one in the southeastern port city of Busan.
The fifth one is set to open in Seoul next Thursday. “Since the opening of our Gwangmyeong store in 2014, one of the largest IKEA stores globally, we have expanded via multiple sales channels — website, app and shop-by-phone service Hej order,” IKEA Korea Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Isabel Puig said in a press event. IKEA Gangdong, the fifth store, will provide customers with an omnichannel shopping experience, as it is the first IKEA store in Korea integrated into a shopping mall, offering excellent accessibility for customers, particularly those in eastern Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi Province, the CEO said.
Customers increasingly purchase products online after comparing prices on YouTube and seeing the products in offline stores. IKEA Gangdong will serve as a place for such an experience, she said. The fifth outlet does not take the traditional blue box form.
Instead, it is accessible on the first and second floors of the Gangdong IPARK THE RIVER complex cultural facility. Blue box refers to IKEA stores, which look like big blue boxes. IKEA Korea saw its earnings improve in the past two fiscal years.
It shifted to a net profit of 5.52 billion won (US$38.5 million) in the 2024 fiscal year that ended in August 2024 from a net loss of 5.
19 billion won. IKEA plans to invest 300 million euros in Korea for three years through 2026 to gain a bigger share in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy. (Yonhap).
