IKEA at Festival Plaza to be bigger, ‘smarter’, ‘greener’

Swedish Furniture retailer IKEA – part of Al-Futtaim in the region – has unveiled details of its new store that will open in December 2019 at Festival Plaza in Dubai South. Set to becoming the biggest IKEA in the UAE, the new store will be spread across over 376,735 sqft, including a 53,820 sqft training area for IKEA employees. In addition, the store will embrace digital integration to allow for a more intuitive shopping experience for customers.

The new IKEA store promises to bring to life a new and exciting growth corridor. The project will appeal mainly to the nearby communities including Jebel Ali, Dubai Marina, Barsha, Al Sufouh, Sports city, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Investments Park and all the new areas in the up and coming Dubai South.

The new store will implement several solutions designed to provide an easy and convenient shopping experience to customers. Home planning wall projectors allow customers to be able to easily visualise products in their home and make decisions around elements including rug sizes and mattress selection. Throughout the main showroom, digital signage and projector solutions will provide customers with information about the range of products available as well as serving as a guide through the store. Customers can use a self-service kiosk in the restaurant driveway or a self-ordering terminal at a table to access the restaurant menu and order a meal.

“At IKEA we are committed to creating a positive impact on people, society and the planet by making sustainable living affordable, attractive and accessible. For many people in the UAE, building a home is one of the key factors to building their life here so our commitment with our new store is to make that an enjoyable experience for all and more accessible in the significant area of Dubai South,” says Vinod Jayan, managing director – IKEA UAE, Egypt and Oman. “Celebrating 28 years in Dubai, we consider the UAE home to many of our success stories and have so much to offer in our area of expertise to our customers. The opening of the new store is another key milestone on our journey here and we look forward to welcoming you all.”

IKEA always looks for innovative solutions to enable people to live more sustainably at home and help them reduce waste, save energy and conserve natural resources. Bringing this to life, the new store will include a number of sustainability innovations. Solar panels will enable the store to receive 20% of its power from solar energy, while efficient air-conditioning units and lights with motion-based control will help save energy that could power more than 400 homes yearly. IKEA also recycles 90% of its dry operational waste annually. IKEA’s target is to use only renewable or recycled materials for its products by 2030.