Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

IKEA commits to more Gulf stores despite e-commerce boom

IKEA commits to more Gulf stores despite e-commerce boom

Swedish retail giant says will continue store expansion despite increased online activity during Covid-19 lockdown
The iconic blue buildings and yellow lettering of the IKEA brand will be at the forefront of the company’s future plans in the region, despite a significant increase in e-commerce activity over the coronavirus crisis.

Both IKEA stores in Dubai were closed, from March 25 to April 25, as a result of the Covid-19-enforced lockdown measures, while the Abu Dhabi store on Yas Island opened only briefly during this time, in early April for a restricted number of hours.

The Swedish furniture giant continued to operate online, however, with positive results.

Vinod Jayan, managing director of Al-Futtaim IKEA, told Arabian Business: “The e-commerce has steadily grown from I would say the middle of 2018. It was steadily growing and, just before the Covid hit us, we were already on double-digit store share of the total sales of the UAE, from a digital perspective.

“Then what happens, during the time when the stores were closed, it went up by five or six times and you’re talking in thousands, I’m not talking about 10 to 50, we’re talking about thousands of orders.”

However, according to the company’s nationwide survey of around 1,500 people, conducted prior to Covid-19, 75 percent of people said, when it comes to home furnishing, they would still like to touch and feel the product before buying.

And Jayan revealed that, since the go-ahead was given to reopen its doors, the rebound has “exceeded expectations”.

“The best thing is, once the stores opened, we have seen a change in the shopping pattern where the growth in the e-commerce is continuing, not in terms of the five times, but the e-commerce is still selling at about 70 percent more than what it did before Covid and, at the same time, the stores are not being cannibalised.,” he said.

That, Jayan said, helps cement their commitment to bricks-and-mortar stores. This includes pressing ahead with expansion plans, with a second store set to open in Abu Dhabi in November, and further stores opening in Cairo in March and Muscat, towards the end of 2021 or early 2022.

And despite the global pandemic, he believed the company would exceed targets set at the start of the year.

He said: “We will be able to finish off the year as per our plans. That is why we have not scaled down any of our plans. We are actually going full blast.

“We were planning on having a higher sales than last year and a higher profit than last year and we will end up achieving both.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×