Ikea has presented an expansion and transformation plan that is intended to establish the template for what the company aspires to be in Spain and in the world. The plan will be rolled out over the coming three years and represents an investment of around 150 million euros and the creation of 750 new direct jobs. Spain will thus serve as a testing ground for the projects the Swedish company hopes to implement worldwide in the future.

Ikea has chosen Spain for this plan due to its "strong growth potential", according to its press release. The strategy it plans to test in Spain includes the opening of new store formats in city centers in order to increase its proximity to more people. Madrid and Barcelona are two of the 30 cities around the world that have been selected for the implementation of this new proximity format.

Logistics capacity
The company's project also includes an investment to upgrade its facilities and services, and the reinforcement of the formats it established previously. The stores' logistics capacity will also be enhanced to give them greater agility and to expand the network of collection points.

The first step in the plan will be the transformation of Ikea's store in the Calle Goya in the center of Madrid. The other store in the capital, located in Calle Serrano, will be moved and merged with this one, and the number of items available both in the store and for order will be increased. It will also reinforce other services such as the collection of orders and its consulting services. In total, the refurbishment of the three-story premises will represent an investment of 800,000 euros.

Current context and needs
According to Mosiri Cabezas, business development and transformation manager at Ikea in Spain: “Our Serrano store opened its doors in 2017 as our first urban store specializing in bedrooms; one year later we opened our Goya store, this time with a focus on living rooms. After these years of experience and learning, we have listened to our customers, who told us they wanted to be able to access our whole range in the same space without losing the proximity of an urban point. We will place particular emphasis on sustainable lifestyles and low prices in order to respond to the current context and needs”.

The other center set to undergo a wholesale transformation is the space in Alcorcón. The implementation of the new digital solutions currently being tested in this store will transform it into Ikea's Digital Flagship Store. As many as 19 digital services have already begun to be introduced to revolutionize the shopping experience. A new logistics approach will be tested in the same store to improve the preparation of orders.

Cabezas explains: “This is a live project that may even be expanded. The idea is to test as many digital solutions as we can to gain a greater knowledge of what today's customers want and need and be able to offer them the best response from a practical and experiential point of view”.