Apr 10, 2006, 12:45 GMT
Beijing - The Swedish firm IKEA, the world's biggest furniture retailer, will open its largest outlet in Asia in Beijing on Wednesday, as part of a major expansion plan in China, the company's Asia-Pacific president, Ian Duffy, said on Monday.
The opening of the 44,000-square-metre store in Beijing is a 'very, very important' move that reflects IKEA's commitment to the Chinese market, Duffy told reporters.
IKEA plans to open one or two new stores in China every year until 2010, when it aims to have about 10 outlets.
The Swedish firm already has two more stores in the economic hub of Shanghai and the affluent southern city of Guangzhou, and it plans to open its next store in the central city of Chengdu.
It hopes to open another new store in Beijing by 2008, eventually running four or five outlets in the city, he said.
The new Beijing store, which will replace its old outlet in the city, expects some 50,000 visitors on Wednesday.
It employs 500 staff, 120 more than the old IKEA store in Beijing, Duffy said.
He declined to give the cost of the new store but agreed that it was close to 100 million dollars.
Duffy said IKEA's success in China was achieved by making most its products locally and reducing its prices by more than 50 per cent in the last few years.
Only IKEA's flagship retail outlet in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, is bigger than the new Beijing store.
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