Ikea Qatar, which opens today, is the Swedish furniture retailer’s first in the world in terms of the highest number of local adaptations.
“Ikea Qatar store features more than 40 local adaptations, including 19-room settings and three majlises,” John Kersten, managing director, Ikea – UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Oman, explained.
Intensive market research was undertaken by Al Futtaim group, which manages Ikea in the region, to adapt the Qatar store as close to the country as possible.
“We visited 50 houses in Qatar in order to understand how they are furnished,” recalled Kersten.
The Ikea team found that houses in Qatar generally have a bathroom for each bedroom, whereas in Europe, a house will have only one bathroom, irrespective of the number of bedrooms.
“So, each of the five ‘bedrooms’ we have displayed at Ikea Qatar store have separate ‘bathrooms.’
Ikea Qatar has also entered into a tie-up with Commercialbank, which offers 0% interest monthly payment options for credit card purchases.
“As part of our commitment to the local community, Ikea will work with Qatar-based organisations to jointly undertake initiatives in the fields of children’s education as well as in energy saving and sustainability,” Kersten said.
The 33,000sq m Ikea Qatar store is also the biggest in the Middle East. Al Futtaim group, currently building Egypt’s first Ikea store at Cairo Festival City, has plans for Oman’s first store, in addition to a third store in the UAE.