Swedish IKEA mulling over entering Ukraine

Now, IKEA is examining the best business model options that would allow the company to implement plans in Kyiv within one or two years. The decision on further steps will be taken based on the results of market research and preferences of Ukrainian consumers, it said.

Stefan Vanoverbeke, CEO of IKEA South East Europe, says the company aims to improve the daily life of many Ukrainian consumers by offering affordable products and solutions for the home.

Read alsoIKEA confirms plans to work in Ukraine What is more, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko and IKEA Regional Property and Expansion Manager in South East Europe Vladislav Lalic ‎have discussed prospects for IKEA's entry into the Ukrainian market, according to the press service of Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA).

Klitschko stressed that the city authorities had introduced transparency and openness so that investors and foreign companies could enter Kyiv's market.

This refers to further elimination of administrative barriers, bureaucracy, and business facilitation.

According to the Kyiv mayor, Ukrainians have already evaluated IKEA's products. However, they have to use intermediaries' services because of the absence of IKEA's representative office in Ukraine.

"Ukrainians are very much looking forward to IKEA's entry into our market," the KCSA press service said.

In turn, Vladislav Lalic noted that the decision on further steps would be taken based on the results of market research and Ukrainian consumers' preferences.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in late May 2017, Mandarin Plaza Board Chairman Oleksandr Chernitsky said that IKEA was planning to enter the Ukrainian market. In his words, IKEA is considering the possibility to rent Yuzhny shopping mall with an area of 450,000 square meters in Kyiv's Holosiyivsky District. Its construction is scheduled for the end of 2017.

UNIAN memo. IKEA is one of the world's largest retail chains for design and sell of ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, and home accessories. It was established in Sweden in 1943. There are several companies operating under the IKEA brand with different owners.

The IKEA Group includes manufacturing companies, store distributions sites, pick-up and order points, as well as 315 retail outlets in 27 countries. In total, IKEA Group operates in 42 countries.