Ikea’s China remodelling: parent firm puts 8 former retail sites on block
Sales follow store closures as Swedish furniture retailer focuses on online channels amid sluggish property market, consumer spending
Ikea’s parent company Ingka Group has hired property consultancy JLL as its sole sales agent to offload eight retail properties in mainland China, the multinational furniture brand’s largest asset disposal since it entered the market nearly 30 years ago.
The move comes as the company grapples with China’s sluggish property market and consumer spending, which have weighed on demand for its products.
The seven outlets are located in Shanghai’s suburban Baoshan district, Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong, Tianjin municipality in northern China, Harbin in the northern province of Heilongjiang, Nantong and Xuzhou in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and Ningbo in the eastern province of Zhejiang. Among them, the Shanghai location was once Ikea’s biggest store in Asia, with roughly 105,000 square metres (1.1 million sq ft) of space, the consultancy said.
All eight self-held assets had been fully vacated and had no outstanding lease agreements, according to JLL, which added that they could be delivered immediately and readily converted into rental flats, neighbourhood malls, cultural complexes or corporate headquarters.
Ikea China said the disposal was part of an ongoing review and optimisation of its omnichannel ecosystem, aiming to deliver more efficient operations.