The Spanish city where Ikea will open a new store in November
Ikea announced this Thursday that it will open the doors of its new store in Vitoria-Gasteiz next November 27in the outdoor area of the El Boulevard Shopping Center, in a space designed to “inspire and make easier” the daily lives of Álava homes, marking a “new milestone” in the company’s expansion in the north of the country. The new establishment will have 3,000 square meters of commercial space and has involved an investment of 6.3 million euros.
This new space will offer a closer, more comfortable and sustainable shopping experience, replicating the classic areas of an IKEA store: Exhibition, Accessories, Self-service, and Circular Market. In addition, it has a Restoration space of 185 square meters to enjoy typical Swedish meatballs, hot dogs or ham sandwiches and buy products from the Swedish Food Store, such as smoked salmon or vanilla cookies.
In total, More than 1,500 products will be available to take away immediatelyalong with planning services, personalized advice and product collection.
The team will be made up of 48 peopleof which 90.4% correspond to new vacancies that have been filled mainly with local talent. Currently, they are in the training process to offer the best experience to customers.
Leading the team will be Alberto Maurelle, new store director, who has extensive experience in the company. Previously, he has worked at IKEA as head of the Bedroom and Mattresses area in the Madrid area and at IKEA Barakaldo as head of logistics and service fulfillment, providing solid experience in team management and operations.
“We are very proud of the team formed at IKEA Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is a project made with and for local talent, which reflects the diversity, closeness and commitment of the people who make it possible for IKEA to be close to the people of Alava every day,” declared Maurelle.
For his part, the manager of the El Boulevard shopping center -managed by CBRE-, Óscar Valdivieso, stated that they are “delighted” to welcome IKEA. “His incorporation into the center reinforces our strategy of attracting leading brands and continue offering visitors a solid, diverse and quality commercial proposal. An engine of growth for El Boulevard and its surroundings, which will mean a significant increase in the number of visitors and a greater dynamization of the entire shopping center,” he assured.
Furthermore, as a novelty, this new store will have a space of 1,200 m2 of logistics capacity in order to support the distribution of products in Euskadi, Navarra, Cantabria and La Rioja, especially sofas.
The current IKEA planning space located in the same Shopping Center will close on November 24while the external collection point in Júndiz will remain open until the delivery of the last order placed there.
