Ikea’s Fabian Winterbine details how Kiwi homes will shape brand’s local rollout
Swedish retail giant Ikea is preparing to make its mark on the NZ market.
Ikea’s digital and design philosophy is set to transform how Kiwis experience retail as the Swedish giant prepares to make its mark on the NZ market, with potential locations in Wellington and Christchurch on its radar.
Speaking at the 2025 Property Council Retail Property Conference, Ikea Australia and New Zealand expansion manager Fabian Winterbine shared more detail about the brand’s entry into the market.
“For Ikea, we don’t want to be sidelined, we don’t want to watch as everything passes us by. We want to create the future that we would like to see,” Winterbine said.
“New Zealand will be one of the first countries where we enter for the first time on day one as an omni-channel retailer. Many countries we’ve started with bricks and mortar, cash and carry, and then we’ve built up over time.”
Key to Ikea’s philosophy and its entry into the NZ market is to understand how Kiwis live in their own homes, but also what will get them into stores themselves.
Winterbine shared multiple examples of unique store designs around the world that made use of different layouts and experiences, including stores in Austria, Hungary and London.
He also spoke about Ikea’s first failed entry into Japan in the 1970s.
At the time, the business approached the market thinking its products and lifestyle would mesh well with Japanese living, but it didn’t go as planned.
“They had very small spaces. They live in very small homes, very few of them had cars, they slept in different ways and they lived in very different homes.
“It was in huge contrast at the time to European-sized furniture, that flat-pack, do-it-yourself concept of Ikea.”
The brand left the country 12 years later, with Winterbine describing it as a “disaster”.
But the brand went back two decades later, and learned the lesson it needed, which was to gauge the local market and its unique way of living and adjust the product categories accordingly.
In New Zealand’s case, Ikea visited more than 500 homes to ask Kiwis how they lived and what their needs were to learn what products would be best suited.
They discovered that 93% of those asked had carpeted garages, 88% had crowded entryways, 48% struggled with kitchen storage, and that 35% grew their own fruits and vegetables.
“Behind this sit a lot of insights and stories about actual people’s lives and their frustrations at home.
“We’re really trying to take that and then bring it into our marketing in New Zealand.”
The NZ store will feature roughly 7500 hand-picked home furnishing products, including extendable tables, corner sofas and garage and entryway storage options.
Winterbine also shared a sneak peek at the Sylvia Park store’s fitout, with images showing off some of the 50-plus featured room settings, including kitchens, decks and lounges.
He highlighted Ikea’s investment in the building’s sustainability.
The 34,000sq m store has achieved a 5-star green star rating, and features 100% renewable energy (of which 50% is produced on site), a 50,000 litre water tank to harvest and reuse rainwater, 100% reprogrammable LED lighting and 25 EV charging stations for electric vehicles.
Winterbine described the building as a “big chilly bin”, noting its design, which focuses on regulating the temperature within for a more comfortable experience.
For those in the South Island unable to easily visit the Sylvia Park store, the business will have 29 pickup points nationwide for online deliveries, allowing them to make use of Ikea’s fully developed omni-channel experience.
Ikea’s website and app are already well established and connected, but have technology not seen before in the NZ market, including an in-store map akin to Google Maps allowing for directions to specific products, as well as the ability to scan products for more information and purchasing capabilities.
Ikea also has a Kreativ platform – a 3D room designer which allows users to scan their own spaces to see what Ikea furniture looks like before they make any purchases.
Winterbine said the business was optimistic about its entry into the NZ market and expected the store to perform well on opening.
“It’s the final countdown for us to open in a new market here in New Zealand, but it really marks the start of our journey here and we really believe we have a lot to do.”
As to why the business took its time entering the market, Winterbine said New Zealand’s distance from Sweden was a factor as other new markets were closer, but that now was the right time because of Ikea’s omni-channel experience.
Ikea is already thinking about other locations in New Zealand. Winterbine said its focus was on opening its Auckland store on December 4, but hinted that Wellington and Christchurch could be options in the future.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald covering small business, retail, and tourism.
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