IKEA is now finishing work on its Auckland Blue Box—its first foray into the New Zealand market—and is looking for 400-plus workers to work in-store. The new store, which uses 4,800 tons of structural steel – double the IKEA standard due to New Zealand’s earthquake regulations – marks the first time the retail giant has entered a new market since it opened in Slovenia during the early months of the Covid pandemic.
As the world’s third-largest consumer of timber products, IKEA’s “Big Box” stores have been a regular fixture in Australia for 50 years. The 3-storey Sylvia Park store joins a portfolio of 400 stores in 61 countries.
On track for a mid-2025 opening—12 months ahead of schedule—the new store is being developed by Kiwi Property Group and constructed by Naylor Love. Last year, Fabian Winterbine, IKEA’s expansion manager for Australasia and New Zealand, said that the new build met Australian (rather than NZ) standards, would meet NZ’s “Best Practice” for Green Star, and would use an insulated steel-and-concrete sandwich system.
IKEA’s push into New Zealand comes as the furniture giant pivots from Europe. Instead, it is now focusing on the North American, Asian, and Oceanic markets—with the furniture giant’s largest retailer, Ingka Group, investing more than EUR 5 billion to grow IKEA’s presence across 31 markets and launch new stores worldwide.
Why IKEA’s largest retailer is buying into New Zealand’s forests
In August, Wood Central revealed that IKEA and Ingka’s financial arm were targeting NZ forests (in addition to forests in Romania and the Baltics) for investment, with the world’s largest furniture retailer buying out the country’s forests and farmland in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
That includes the Birch North Forest, which the Taraua District Council sold to Ingka Investments this week, adding to more than 25,000 hectares of forest lands that the Swedish conglomerate now controversially has under its control.
“Responsible forest management means thinking in terms of generations, and not financial quarters,” according to Kelvin Meredith, Ingka Investments dedicated NZ forestlands manager. “Our approach always considers our impact on local communities and the environment; we’re looking forward to being part of the community.”
- To learn more about the global challenges faced by IKEA in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff plan, click here for Wood Central’s special feature last month.
