IKEA plans new US stores to challenge Walmart, Wayfair

IKEA owner Ingka Group is set to spend $2.2 billion on new stores in the US over the coming three years said the company on Thursday. This is the company’s biggest investment in a single country to challenge companies like Walmart and Wayfair.

Sweden’s IKEA is setting a goal of winning market share in the US since consumers are currently on the hunt for more affordable products.

“It is in all the states across the U.S. where we see opportunities, but I would say in particular the South, where we see big demand that we have not so far been able to respond to,” said head of IKEA Retail at Ingka Group Tolga Öncü.

Ingka is planning on opening eight new big IKEA store and nine smaller ones, in addition to upgrading current stores, the company said on Thursday.

Öncü said that the locations for the new stores had not yet been decided.

Walmart and Wayfair are currently cutting jobs and shutting down stores, which is considered an opportunity for IKEA to expand.

Ingka said that the new stores will create around 2,000 jobs.

“There are locations available that have not been available before, there are opportunities for us to speed up investments in acquiring land and existing locations to bring IKEA closer to the many people,” Öncü said.

IKEA currently has 51 stores and two plan and order points in the US.

Ingka Group had revenues from the US in 2022 of $6.03 billion.