IKEA to open the second store in Abu Dhabi

Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA is gearing to open its second store in the UAE capital in July 2020. The furnishing retailer has chosen Al Wahda Mall as the location for its new 23,000-sqft store, its fifth across the Emirates. The move also comes close on the heels of opening its second store in Dubai at the Festival Plaza in Jebel Ali.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Wajeb Al Khoury, director of Line Investments and Property and Vinod Jayan, managing director of Al-Futtaim IKEA, in the presence of Ashraf Ali MA, executive director of LuLu Group, at the Lulu Group regional office in Dubai.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashraf Ali described it as a proud moment to “welcome the world-renowned IKEA brand that would be loved by the residents in the heart of the city who need ready-to-assemble furniture and home essentials. IKEA would perfectly complement the lifestyle and entertainment offerings of Al Wahda Mall to make every shopping experience complete.”

“One of our key strategic objectives at IKEA is to reach and engage with many more people, and with the opening of our second store in Abu Dhabi, we edge closer to achieving our goal. We are delighted to open a new IKEA store at Al Wahda mall, given the mall’s strategic and central location,” added Jayan. “We are thrilled to bring a new City Store IKEA concept to the people of Abu Dhabi, a concept that brings the IKEA experience closer to people’s homes. As in all IKEA stores, we will offer a wide range of home furnishing ideas with well-designed furniture and home accessories that are affordable for all.”

Historically speaking, Al Wahda Mall is IKEA’s third location in Abu Dhabi. The first IKEA store was opened in 2001 at Abu Dhabi Marina Mall, which relocated to Yas Island in 2011. Likewise, the first small format IKEA store in Dubai’s Karama area was opened in 1991. In 1995, the large format store was located at City Centre Deira, which later relocated to Dubai Festival City in 2005.