Seoul’s first IKEA store gets out of signature ‘blue box’

IKEA Korea President and Chief Sustainability Officer Isabel Puig speaks during a media day at IKEA's new store in Seoul's Gangdong District, Friday. Courtesy of IKEA Korea

Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA will open its first Seoul store next week, giving up the brand’s signature “blue box” architecture to localize it inside a new business complex in the city’s easternmost district.

Located inside Godeok Biz Valley in Gangdong District, the fifth IKEA store in Korea is nestled inside the mega business and shopping complex, drawing interest from local residents. Gangdong is the fourth largest district in Seoul, with a population over 490,000 and new subway lines under development.

The two-story, 25,000-square-meter store showcases 7,400 items, of which half are available for immediate pickup. IKEA Korea said the items will “help solve home furnishing for residences including a 66-square-meter apartment suite that accounts for many residences in the district.”

The company said the store created 200 new jobs, 43 percent of which are filled by Gangdong residents. It added it chose Gangdong because of its convenient access to highways and public transportation.

Isabel Puig, president of IKEA Korea and chief sustainability officer, called the store a “new kid on the block” and a “new local omnichannel” for home furnishing.

“According to a IKEA Life at Home report from 2022, 43 percent of Koreans are satisfied with living at home. That means the rest of them are not. They are our target consumers whom we can help make their homes better," she said. "The report also showed only 16 percent of Koreans take control of their home furnishing, which are the lowest level among countries where we operate."

IKEA's first Seoul store inside Godeok Biz Valley in Gangdong District / Courtesy of IKEA Korea

“But interestingly, 35 percent of Koreans, the highest level in the world, believed that sustainability and healthy living are key factors in their home living.”

IKEA said sustainability is one of its five “democratic design” factors alongside form, function, quality and low prices. The Gangdong store was rated the highest level on the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment, a global certification focused on sustainability in building structures, including the use of renewable energies for store operations. All deliveries across Seoul are done by electric trucks.

“Democratic design is a magical set of sustainability-centered practices representing who we are,” Puig said. “I want local communities around the new store and quality of lives of local residents to grow with us. We plan to invest further in all our stores in Korea as we wish to operate in the country for a long-term.”

Control of IKEA Korea’s operation is under Ingka Group, which also runs the brand in 30 other countries. Ingka accounts for 90 percent of IKEA’s global retail sales.

Starting its operations in 2014, IKEA Korea posted 625 billion won ($432 million) in sales and 18.6 billion won in operating profit from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31 last year. The sales figure surpassed the previous year's 600.66 billion won. More than 58.2 million people visited IKEA stores in Korea last year.