We’ve all put our DIY hats on at some point in our lives and built a cupboard or set of draws from flat pack furniture. But now IKEA, famous for its Swedish flat pack collections, is planning to build a whole town in Germany – whether people have to build it themselves is questionable!
The 150,000 sq. ft. development would consist of retail commercial properties, offices and residential homes. Hamburg is the favoured city for the development, but IKEA still need to gain planning permission from local councils.
Speaking of the construction of the town, Harald Mueller, Manager at Landprop, a subsidiary of IKEA, said: “We want to build a new area of the city from which Hamburg can benefit, and preferably near an Ikea outlet.
“The new district would include housing for thousands of Hamburgers, as well as shops and offices.
“Either way, Ikea wants to stir up the market.”
This is not the only commercial development that IKEA has started. Recently the company announced plans to open a chain of hotels throughout Europe in 2014, which would be cheap, but not branded with IKEA’s famous flat pack furniture.
“We will announce the first location for our budget hotel in Germany in the next few weeks and we are in talks with hotel operators to rapidly implement our concept,” Mr Mueller added.
The UK is also on the receiving end of IKEA’s plans, as the company are developing an area near the Olympic Park in London consisting of 500,000 sq. ft. of commercial space for office, retail and leisure units as well as 1,200 new homes.
IKEA was first formed in 1947 by Ingvar Kamprad when he was just 17. The name came from his initials and the first letters from the farm and village where he grew up (Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd). The first store opened in Sweden in 1958 and came to the UK in 1987.
Today there are 301 commercial properties in 37 different countries in IKEA’s portfolio. Of those stores, 34 are run by franchises in 16 countries.
Do you own any IKEA furniture? Are you a flat pack pro, or do you still get your dad to help?
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The tale of political prisoners 30 years ago engaged in forced labor @IKEA has erased from history. Most giants including IKEA foundation is related with UNICEF and this story travels as on today’s date.