Biggest Ikea in Malaysia to open in Cheras in November

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Ikea Cheras is one step closer to opening its doors as they celebrated the completion of the building with a traditional Swedish thanksgiving event, Roof Capping, yesterday.

Located in Jalan Cochrane, customers will be able to enjoy Ikea's distinctive brand of Scandinavian design in a much larger space. Spanning 42,000 sq m, Ikea Cheras is 20% bigger than its Mutiara Damansara predecessor.

Its location near the city centre as well as major highways and the future Cochrane MRT station also makes it very accessible.

“Come end November 2015, Ikea Cheras will provide more Malaysians with Swedish home furnishings that are well-designed, functional, affordable and good quality,” said Ikea Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand retail director Mike King at the Roof Capping event.

The Ikea team is currently in the process of fitting interiors, operational setup and staff training in preparation for its opening.

To support the project, a recent nationwide recruitment exercise was carried out and met with overwhelming response.

“With the passionate and committed co-workers we have on-board, this new store ensures more Malaysians will get a chance to enjoy the unique Ikea store experience many have come to know and love,” King said.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that the Swedish homefurnishing giant plans to expand further and set up operations in Johor and Penang.

King said the company was currently searching for locations to set up the stores in Johor and Penang.

"We are working on possible sites for the stores in both states. It is likely to be Johor first and then Penang. I would say that the stores will be opened within this decade," he said.

Asked if Ikea also planned to open stores in Sabah and Sarawak, King said the company was always looking at expanding its business but has not made any decisions yet.

With the opening of Ikea Cheras, Ikea would have five stores in Southeast Asia, with two in Malaysia, two in Singapore and one in Thailand.