Ikea, the furniture giant is increasing its locations in France. On the eve of the “Choose France” summit where 200 foreign bosses met this Monday in Versailles in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, the Swedish group announced that it wanted to invest an additional 906 million euros in France by 2026. 377 million euros will be added from a previous investment envelope. In all, more than one billion euros will be deployed over four years in France.
The group currently has five logistics distribution centers in France (in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, Fos-sur-Mer, Metz, Châtres, Gennevilliers) and plans to open one more to the south of Toulouse, with a opening scheduled for 2024.
Reduce delivery times
This new distribution center, which will be deployed on an already existing surface of approximately 10,000 m2, aims to increase storage and home delivery capacities for customers in the region, with the ambition of reducing delivery times. The site will have chargers for electric vehicles to help reduce the environmental impact of deliveries.
Ultimately, approximately 80 employees will operate on the site. By way of comparison, near Limay in the Yvelines, nearly 500 jobs will be created by 2026 thanks to the new logistics center over 72,000 m2.
“This new distribution center contributes (…) to strengthening the accessibility of the offer thanks to complementary physical and online contact points”, explains the group.
Currently, Toulouse has two Ikea stores. The first covers 16,000 m2 since 1995 while in the city center, the Swedish giant launched in 2021 a concept unique in France at the time: a place of advice to help customers in the realization of their projects. The group thus employs 320 people in the conurbation.