IKEA Batu Kawan will open for business in 1Q2019

PETALING JAYA (Sept 12): Malaysia’s fourth IKEA store, which is coming up in Batu Kawan, will open its doors to the public in 1Q2019.

According to the press statement, the 433,000 sq ft IKEA Batu Kawan is expected to cater for 825,000 households within an hour’s drive distance in the northern region.

“It will be easy for millions of people to access the thousands of functional, affordable home-furnishing products we have in our IKEA range — not to mention our Swedish meatballs!” said IKEA Southeast Asia managing director Christian Rojkjaer during the ground-breaking ceremony.

“We have seen people from Penang driving more than 350km to shop at IKEA in Kuala Lumpur. This store in Batu Kawan will make it easy for them to come for a great day out,” he added.

The long-awaited Swedish home-furnishing company has marked the start of the construction today at its site in Aspen Vision City, Batu Kawan, together with IKEA co-workers, business partners and government officials.

IKEA Batu Kawan is an integral component of Aspen Vision City, a mixed-use development that will also include condominiums, a financial hub, school and parkland.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng described IKEA as a “magnet” for Batu Kawan, as it is expected to draw millions of shoppers, tourists and investors, as well as create hundreds of new jobs and businesses for suppliers.

“Attracting IKEA to our state has long been a key part of our plan to make Penang an international and intelligent state that is also an attractive destination where people live, learn, work and play,” he said.

According to IKEA Batu Kawan store manager Pathmalingam Arumugam, the new store will hire more than 300 local staff before the store opens.

The newest IKEA store will come with all their standard features, namely over 50 room sets to provide home-furnishing ideas, thousands of affordable and ready-to-take-home products, a free playground for children, loyalty programmes and IKEA food, which includes its signature Swedish meatballs.

Meanwhile, the third IKEA store in Tebrau, Johor Bahru, is slated to start its operations by year end. Together with another two stores in Klang Valley, there will be four IKEA stores in Malaysia.