The largest occasion in New Zealand on Thursday perhaps was the inauguration of a furnishing shop.
Keen patrons tallied down “3… 2…1” and waved Swedish banners as the portals opened to IKEA’s most remote branch from its nation of origin.
Resounding cheers erupted as throngs hurried inside the furniture center’s freshest outlet in Auckland, in a much-awaited launch that will ultimately grant Kiwis entry to Nordic essentials such as the BILLY bookshelf and the MALM bed base.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon snipped the ribbon and lauded the arrival of the reasonably priced furnishing massive as a triumph for New Zealand, which is grappling with an expense-of-living strain.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the IKEA opening day, Auckland, New Zealand on December 4, 2025.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the IKEA opening day, Auckland, New Zealand on December 4, 2025. The New Zealand Herald/Getty Images
“It’s been a lengthy time coming,” Luxon told journalists. “What it signifies is truly good overseas investment in New Zealand, and also really excellent employment.”
The initial IKEA shop commenced in Sweden in 1958. The vendor now operates in more than 60 territories and registered 44.6 billion Euros ($52 billion) in turnover in the 2025 fiscal term.
Its characteristic designs are omnipresent in campus living quarters and residences globally. Time spent concentrating on IKEA assembly directions is a rite of passage for relocations across landmasses.
New Zealand is one of the final developed nations to acquire an IKEA, 50 years subsequent to the Swedish trademark started in Australia. The Auckland shop was initially disclosed back in 2019.
People enter the new IKEA store in Sylvia Park, Mt Wellington on December 04, 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand.
People enter the new IKEA store in Sylvia Park, Mt Wellington on December 04, 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand. Phil Walter/Getty Images
About 800 individuals were assembled beyond the greatly awaited Auckland shop Thursday prior to entrances opened at 11 a.m. local hours, with some thrilled consumers showing up as early as 4:30 a.m., according to CNN associate Radio New Zealand.
Patron Bernie related to RNZ he had journeyed over two-and-a-half hours from Papamoa, a district of the municipality of Tauranga.
Prior to the store’s commencement, IKEA fabricated the nation’s premier Home Life survey, chronicling the peculiar characteristics of over 500 Kiwi residences, where the retailer discovered 93% of garages possess floor coverings and 88% of dwelling entryways are messy.
Mirja Viinanen, CEO & primary Sustainability official of IKEA Australia and New Zealand, commented to CNN the launch is part of IKEA’s growth blueprint in the Asia-Pacific expanse.
Beyond the winding megastores IKEA is recognized for, the vendor intends to unveil more “compact format” establishments to be more reachable to patrons in less populated locales, Viinanen mentioned.
Once they build up an appetite furnishing shopping, Auckland patrons will likewise be able to partake in Swedish treats at IKEA’s in-house eatery.
“Naturally we feature the meatballs,” Viinanen stated. “We possess heaps of meatballs.”
Luxon afforded the savory morsel his endorsement.
But when posed by an interviewer whether IKEA ought to be employing New Zealand bovine, he abstained from commentary. “I’m not venturing into that, that’s an arbitration for IKEA.”
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