IKEA planning $100 million expansion by end of 2003

Home furnishings giant IKEA is planning a major expansion of its operations in Poland that will involve increasing its investment by $100 million over the next two years. This will be in addition to the $300 million the company plans to have invested in the country by the end of this year. IKEA will close its store in the center of Warsaw in August, and complete the development of its megastore in Janki, on the outskirts of the capital, by November. The Janki outlet is due to expand from 13,000 square meters at present, to 24,000 square meters. Elsewhere in Poland, IKEA plans to open new outlets in Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Lodz and Gliwice by 2005. In addition, as part of its plan to increase exports to its outlets in other countries, IKEA will establish distribution centers next to the new stores. The company also plans to expand its distribution center in Jarosty, which supplies 14 IKEA furniture stores in Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia and Hungary. The value of IKEA exports from Poland to its network was zl.1.5 billion in 2000, and is projected to reach zl.1.8 billion this year, and zl.2.6 billion by 2004. (Puls Biznesu, p. 15) P.W.