IKEA in Bangkok

IKEA opens its first store in Thailand on 3 November 2011 at the Bangna-Trad Road in Samutprakarn, just outside east Bangkok, about 8.5 km from BITEC.  The 40,000 sq.m. store will be a stand-alone part of the Mega Bangna Shopping Center, and will have capacity to hold around 8,500 articles.

IKEA is a Swedish home furnishing retailer that had its humble beginnings in a small village in Sweden in the year 1943.  Over the span of decades, Ikea has grown into a popular global brandname with their stores in 25 countries, and it is widely believed to be the world's largest furniture retailer.

The chain specializes in ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories. Their products are known for being well-designed, functional and reasonably priced. Their niche ready-to-assemble furniture or RTA is one where the furniture is sold in multiple parts in a box, and requires assembly. The packaged furniture comes with detailed DIY instructions for the buyer to follow in order to assemble it after purchase. The benefit to customers is that it brings down the cost/price of the furniture and requires no delivery service, besides being generally simple with the use of basic tools.

IKEA's popular annual catalog has become a phenomenon in itself, with an almost cult-like following, and is also the company's biggest marketing tool. Containing over 300 pages displaying 12,000 products, the glossy magazine is distributed both in stores and by mail.  Ikea's first ever catalogue in Thailand will launch on 30th September 2011 at the Hard Rock Cafe, Siam Square, where 1,000,000 IKEA 2012 catalogues will be handed out.

Website:  http://www.ikea.co.th/en