Hej Colombia! Welcome to the IKEA family!

After opening the first IKEA stores on the continent of South America last year in Santiago, Chile, it is now time for the many people of Colombia to get to know the IKEA Concept. On 28 September, the first store will open in Mallplaza NQS, Bogotá, with over 26,000 square meters of inspiration for shoppers to explore. It will be accompanied by the launch of the eCommerce platform www.IKEA.com/co. 

“Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Last year we opened our very first IKEA store in South America, in Santiago de Chile. I am very excited and proud to share that we today open the first store in Bogotá, making it possible for the many people of Colombia to shop at IKEA, both in the store and online. There has been a lot of hard work leading up today and the opening day, and I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone for making this happen. And of course, a special thanks to our partner Falabella. Welcome IKEA Colombia!”, says Jon Abrahamsson-Ring, CEO of Inter IKEA.

“We are very excited that we’re now able to make the IKEA range of well-designed, affordable home furnishing solutions, produced with care for people and the environment, accessible to the many people of Colombia. We have a big team full of passionate, inspiring new co-workers to thank for this incredible achievement. It's also amazing to see how the people of Colombia are welcoming IKEA. Together with Falabella, we are determined to make IKEA beloved and meaningful among the many Colombians”, says Maria Johansson, IKEA Expansion Manager, Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

Circular offer
IKEA aims to create a positive impact for people, society and the planet, and is committed to making its business climate positive by 2030. To achieve this, circularity is key and so IKEA continues to work on a circular customer offer for its customers.

“One example of how we want to enable a longer life of our products is our spare parts offer. Last year IKEA sold more than 21 million spare parts globally, this is one way, but key is how we continue to design products with circular capabilities. By having the right spare parts available and accessible to our customers, it is possible for them to extend their product life in different ways.”, says Helene Davidsson, IKEA Retail Concept Sustainability Manager.

Another example is a second-hand offer. There are customers who might no longer need or have use for their furniture, for different reasons. They can return their furniture to IKEA, so that IKEA can make some improvements or reassemble them to ensure their usage continuity. This is one way to develop a circular business model, and the area used in the store is called the 'As is' areas. With the opening of the first IKEA store in Colombia IKEA plans to, over the years, help reuse IKEA products with this model, both with the recovery of furniture from the exhibition areas of its stores and in customer returns. 

Affordability in a meaningful way
In addition, several new products were launched last year to help people live a more sustainable life. Here are some of these products of the IKEA range, available in Colombia on the opening date:

• ÅBÄCKEN water nozzle, which provides an affordable solution to help customers cut down on water usage at home by up to 95% in mist mode.
• The iconic BILLY bookcase returned this year in a range of beautiful wood expressions. Now customers can disassemble and reassemble BILLY as needed. The new bookcases also use paper foil instead of veneer and use less plastic compared to previous versions.
• PLATSA storage system, which use lightweight constructions. Recycled wood will play an even more important role going forward, and IKEA products will continue to include more and more recycled materials such as aluminium, plastics and textiles. 

Facts & Figures

• Total job creation: over 1000 new positions linked to the IKEA entry in Colombia.
• The store in Mallplaza NQS, Bogotá, will be South America's largest IKEA store, with 26,000 square meters, spread over three floors, including over 40 room settings and a 600-seat restaurant.
• An IKEA range of more than 6,000 products.
• Together with Falabella, the progress continues with the Cali and Medellín stores, which will open in 2024.
• With Colombia and the new store in Bogotá, there are currently 468 IKEA stores in 63 markets, worldwide.