Two years and three months after the groundbreaking ceremony in Sylvia Park, Auckland, IKEA has officially said ‘Kia ora’ and opened its first store in New Zealand.
At the same time, the IKEA range is available throughout the country via IKEA.com and the IKEA app, with nationwide delivery and planning services.
The long-anticipated store and its 500 co-workers welcomed crowds of excited Kiwis. Once through the doors, customers experienced styled room-sets and more than 7,500 products, convenient services, and plenty of inspiration.
Tolga Öncü, Ingka Retail Manager (COO), Ingka Group | IKEA, said: “We’re thrilled to bring IKEA all the way to New Zealand, the country that’s geographically the furthest from our Swedish beginnings.
“That distance makes this opening special. Coming to New Zealand is a real leap of faith, investment and friendship, showing we’re not just exporting a store, we’re planting roots for the long term, creating jobs, learning from local communities and tailoring our offer for Kiwi homes.”
For the first time when opening a new market, IKEA has set up 29 pick-up points across the country, where customers can collect their purchases even more affordably.
The new IKEA store in Auckland, pick-up points, online and remote sales complement each other in an omnichannel way, allowing the Swedish retailer to get closer to the shopping preferences of New Zealanders. In addition, a Buy Back service is available at the store from day one – even for non-IKEA products – supporting circular living and reducing waste.
“I’m proud we are now open both in-store and online. We appreciate the excitement shown by the people who showed up and queued to visit our store for the first time,” said Mirja Viinanen, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Australia and New Zealand. “It’s been some time since we first announced our intentions to enter New Zealand in 2019. Right from the start, we wanted to enter in the best way possible and be a good neighbour. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support and collaboration from our neighbours and wider ‘IKEA Family’ community.”
Ahead of the store opening, IKEA has visited more than 500 homes in New Zealand to understand the life at home expectations of the many Kiwis and translate those learnings into its store and online presentation. It also collected those insights into its first Life at Home Report about New Zealand, and organized housewarming celebrations in secret locations across Auckland, reflecting the Kiwi lifestyle – from backyard gatherings to late-night garage jams and sunny mornings by the sea.
New Zealand is the first new market for the largest IKEA retailer since 2021, when a store was opened in Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia.
The expansion into New Zealand is part of a broader investment strategy aimed at making IKEA even more accessible worldwide. In total, more than EUR 5 billion will be invested by FY27 in opening new locations and optimizing the existing ones across many markets.
