MEXICO – It’s official: Ikea will open its first store in Mexico City in the fall of 2020. Ikea executives broke the silence that characterizes them when entering a new market and made the official announcement of their first opening in Mexico.

The first store will be located in the Encuentro Oceania shopping center, east of the capital and will have an area of 23,500 m² divided into three levels where it will offer more than 7,500 product references. The first opening will take place at the time of the launch of its online sales portal, for which together will require between 300 and 370 employees.

The new Ikea store in Mexico City will also have a restaurant with capacity for 665 people, where in addition to other dishes, diners will enjoy the famous Swedish meatballs available throughout Ikea’s restaurants all over the world, as well as a market dedicated to food products of Swedish origin. The store will also implement a water collection system, with the objective of obtaining the LEED Gold certification.

The Swedish company expects to continue its expansion plan in the country with openings in cities of at least one million inhabitants.

“We are excited to reach a market as dynamic as Mexico,” said Malcolm Pruys, general director of Ikea in Mexico. “It is a great moment to announce our arrival, as well as our future plans in the country. Our ambition is to bring the concept of democratic design to the majority of Mexicans.”