IKEA does not expect a slowdown in demand for its products in its fastest-growing market, China, despite a sluggish economy, and the world’s biggest furniture retailer is sticking to investment plans for the country, its chief executive said.
A faltering economy has prompted several international retailers to rethink their China strategies, with Britain’s Marks & Spencer saying this week that its expansion drive there could be slower than hoped. Sweden’s IKEA Group, which owns most of the IKEA stores worldwide that are best known for their budget self-assembly furniture, is however not reappraising its growth plans for China, Chief Executive Peter Agnefjall said.
Having opened three stores in China in the fiscal year to Aug. 31, it plans another three this year, and expects to expand at least the same pace also in the following three, he told Reuters in an interview.
(Source: CNBC)