IKEA Canada is expanding its investment in omnichannel with more than $400 million dedicated to expanding the retailer’s fulfillment capacities in the Greater Vancouver and Toronto Areas.
“At IKEA, we are always looking for ways to optimize our operations to better meet our customers’ need for convenience and speed, while continuing to help fulfill their aspirations for a better life at home,” said Geoffrey Macdonald, CFO, IKEA Canada, in a statement.
“We are focused on further transforming and developing our fulfillment networks in key markets across the country to ensure that our products are available to customers whenever, wherever, and however they choose to shop with us.”
In the Greater Vancouver Area, IKEA Canada said it aims to expand fulfillment capabilities at IKEA Richmond. Should the expansion project be approved, upon completion, the expanded IKEA Richmond store will provide customers with enhanced click and collect and locker pickup services, while supporting truck, parcel, and collection point delivery throughout the Greater Vancouver market. Expansion plans have been developed in alignment with the brand’s climate-positive ambitions, and the new facility will help support short and stable lead times to customers while reducing costs and supporting market growth.
In the Greater Toronto Area, IKEA Canada said it intends to build a new Customer Distribution Centre in Hamilton, Ontario in 2025 that will support expansion throughout southwestern Ontario. IKEA Etobicoke and IKEA Vaughan will also undergo expansions by 2025 to strengthen their store fulfillment capabilities and further enable the company to keep in-demand products available and delivery times as short as possible, while also supporting future growth in the market.
“This omnichannel transformation includes introducing new ways to shop, enhancements to existing store experiences, strengthened digital capabilities and services, along with optimized fulfillment networks to ensure that regardless of when, where or how customers choose to shop, their experience is integrated and seamless,” said the company.
“Renowned worldwide for its large-format stores boasting home furnishing inspirations and solutions where customers can shop and return home with their purchases in-hand, today customers can also shop the brand’s affordable and sustainable products and solutions digitally through IKEA.ca and the shoppable IKEA app. Further, customers can choose to receive their purchases through a variety of pickup and delivery services that best suit their needs and budget.”
IKEA Canada continues to expand its diverse network of customer meeting points including Plan and order points now open in Boisbriand and Brossard, QC as well as Kitchener, ON, Canada’s first city-centre store in downtown Toronto, and the highly anticipated small-format store at Scarborough Town Centre.
Founded in 1943 in Sweden, IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer. IKEA Canada is part of Ingka Group which operates 389 IKEA stores in 32 countries, including 14 in Canada. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 21.2 million visitors to its stores and 236 million visitors to IKEA.ca.
“At a time when customers want fast and affordable home deliveries, having a network of stores with logistics capabilities close to where our customers live is a huge advantage both for our customers and our planet. As fulfillment hubs, our stores can handle home deliveries for items bought at the store and orders placed online and through our Customer Support Centre, Plan and order points and Design studios. By fully realizing the potential of our stores, it will allow us to meet our customers with speed in a more sustainable way. To achieve this, the IKEA Ottawa store added automation that allows for efficiencies in picking customers’ orders. By having more products stored onsite and readily available instead of being shipped from our Distribution Centre, we can reduce lead times to our Ottawa customers along with our carbon footprint,” said the company in its annual report.
“To ensure that our products are available for customers when they choose to shop with us, we are continuing our journey to expand and develop our fulfillment network. We want to ensure that we meet our customers with a seamless omnichannel shopping experience that is delivered with convenience and speed. In our four Central Fulfillment units, we added technology that creates customized boxes to fit the size of a customer’s online order. Our co-workers can pack boxes faster because they require less “paper filler” which reduces the amount of packaging by up to 20 per cent. This is another way we’re reducing our carbon footprint. And to better serve our customers in eastern Canada with improved product availability, we have invested in constructing a new Distribution Centre and Customer Distribution Centre in Beauharnois, QC.”
I just wish they’d locate a store in Montreal that was accessible in the evening by public transit. Downtown maybe? It was so easy to shop at IKEA in Richmond so I went there often. In Montreal, getting there is a nightmare even if you decide to take the car.
I can only hope that the expanded operations in Vancouver will lead to an easier means of ordering from and shipping to Vancouver Island. We in Victoria are clamouring for our own Ikea, even if it’s a smaller one so that it’s easier and less expensive for delivery from Vancouver rather than having to wait for the reduce shipping promotions and/or spending the $200+ to go over on the ferry for the day.