In Pictures: The 'first step for Cork' - inside IKEA's new Douglas unit

The planning area in the new IKEA Kitchens planning and order point in Douglas Village Shopping Centre, Cork. Picture Denis Minihane.

Ikea say that its new unit opened in Douglas this week is just the “first step for Cork”, as the Swedish furniture company is seeking to expand further in Ireland.

The new Ikea Plan and Order Point in Douglas Village Shopping Centre was officially opened on Monday 17 April, the fourth of its kind to open in Ireland, with more in the pipeline for later this year.

IKEA Ireland's fourth design service offering in Ireland in Douglas. Picture: Liam Burke.

Plan and Order Points are smaller IKEA stores focused on kitchen and bedroom planning, where customers can book free appointments to view the units on display and meet with a design specialist for advice.

Customers can make orders at the Plan and Order Points for anything across the full IKEA range, and have items delivered to their home or a location of their choice.

At the official opening of the new IKEA Kitchens planning and order point in Douglas Village Shopping Centre, Cork, were Bartosz Mieszala, centre manager, (right) with some of the IKEA team (from left) Chris Kelly, Mary Guy, Melanie Byrne and Martyn Allan, market manager, IKEA Ireland. Picture Denis Minihane.

Browsing the new store on Monday, shopper Eoin Derham said that Cork has been “screaming out for an IKEA for years”.

“This is the first stepping stone to getting something like Dublin, that people have been looking for for years. If it saves anyone a two-and-a-half-hour drive, it’s great news,” he said.

Shopper Liv Kelleher said that she is looking forward to availing of the new Cork-based service, and said that the new unit is “very exciting for Douglas village”.

“I think it’s going to bring a lot of people down from all over Munster, not just from Cork, so I think it will be a great addition to the centre,” she said.

Martyn Allan, Market Manager for IKEA in Ireland, said that the Point and Order Unit in Douglas is just the “first step” in the company’s plans for Cork.

Jan Derham was the first customer in the new IKEA Kitchens planning and order point which has opened in Douglas Village Shopping Centre, Cork.

“This is the first step for Cork. I can’t confirm anything today, but IKEA is really positive about the Irish market and would like to expand within Ireland,” he said.

The furniture giant’s Dublin store which opened in Ballymun in 2009 and remains the only full-size store in the country, is one of the most successful out of 460 locations worldwide.

Re-opening after pandemic closures in 2020, Ikea Ireland noted in its financial accounts that Ballymun was the “highest performing” of the global group’s stores.

Picture: Liam Burke.

Sales figures from 2022 show that the Ballymun store is the busiest by volume in IKEA's entire global network, with no other outlet selling more Home Decoration items or cooking and eating accessories.