The Dublin site will mean that IKEA’s business in Ireland will have one of the shortest delivery times in Europe, according to the firm.
Swedish furniture giant IKEA is expanding its operations in Ireland by opening a new distribution centre today, based in Rathcoole, county Dublin.
The site, which is capable of housing up to 9,000 different product lines, is over 27,000 square metres – twice the size of Ireland’s Croke Park stadium.
Previously, IKEA customers in Ireland relied on dispatches from the UK, although the firm says the new centre will reduce delivery times to just three days.
“This strategic move not only brings IKEA products closer to its Irish customers but also significantly improves product availability throughout Ireland,” IKEA said.
The new multi-million-euro facility is expected to create 200 jobs.
IKEA is hoping the distribution centre will be making more than 300,000 deliveries in the first year of operation, with that figure almost doubling to nearly 600,000 within five years.
Eventually, the plan is to be able to deliver up to three million items a year from the centre.
“We remain committed to – and are continually investing in – the future of our physical store in Dublin,” said IKEA’s Jakob Bertilsson, Customer Fulfilment Manager for Ireland and the UK, “but we want people to enjoy the IKEA experience no matter where they choose to engage with us, whether through our full-size store, plan and order points, or online.”
This milestone for IKEA follows a series of other investments in Ireland.
The firm has already poured money into six Irish “plan and order points”, which are smaller stores dedicated to interior planning, and it has collaborated with Tesco on a collection service.
IKEA first opened its doors in Ireland in Ballymun, Dublin, in 2009.
The Ballymun store, which has been earmarked for more investment, was IKEA’s highest performing site last year in terms of revenue.
