Ikea plots China expansion

Furniture giant Ikea set its sights on expansion in China today after revealing plans to open a new distribution centre and three new stores.

The Swedish chain also has plans for its first outlet in Japan in April and another outside Tokyo six months later.

The company – famous for its flatpack furniture – hopes to have 10 stores open in China in the next few years.

It launched there in 1998 with a branch in Beijing, before Shanghai in 2003 and Guangzhou, South China earlier this year.

The new distribution centre – taking over from a site in Malaysia – will be in Shanghai with the new stores in Chengdu in central China, Shenzhen in the south and Nanjing in the east.

Ikea began in a small farming village in Sweden in 1943.

There are now 227 stores in 33 countries worldwide and plans to open 19 more next year.

Its biggest market is Germany, which accounts for around a fifth of sales, followed by the UK with 12%, then the United States, France and Sweden.