Ikea inches toward first store in NZ

Ikea is slowly inching towards opening its first New Zealand store.

The Swedish furniture giant has registered Ikea New Zealand with the Companies Office.

Ikea New Zealand has also filed a directors constitution, formalising the executive management structure for the local business.

But the key questions such as when and where the first store will be remain unanswered 10 months following the company’s announcement it was heading to our shores.

In January, the company announced plans it would open a new Ikea store in Auckland with a second store in the regions.

Ikea’s New Zealand manager, Will Edwards refused to give an exact time for the megastore launch, and said it would take a number of years to set up.

In the meantime, he said the company would open a pop-up shop in central Auckland. ‘‘It makes sense to be in Auckland where many people are living and also commuting in and out of. We’d like to give a piece of Ikea before the full meal comes along.’’

At the same event, Global chief executive Jesper Brodin said Ikea needed about 300-to-400 employees at the megastore, and several hundred more jobs to support logistics.

New Zealand would get the ‘‘whole shebang’’, with a product range of about 7000 items at least in the big warehouse store. However further details of both the fullsized store and the pop-up store remain scant. The location and opening dates of the stores are still unknown.

An Ikea spokesperson has been approached for comment. While Ikea has remained coy regarding the development, international megastore Costco is on track with its development at Westgate, north-west Auckland.

General manager of NZ Retail Property Group, Campbell Barbour, said the filing of consent was ‘‘imminent’’, which would give Kiwis a look at the official plans for the big box store.