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12. 03. 10. - 16:00

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12. 03. 10. - 16:00

Ikea buys its franchise in Bucharest

Romanian Times

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has bought its franchise in Romania, according to a statement by the company today (Fri).

Ikea's franchise in in Bucharest, owned by a local developer, opened in 2007. It is the only Ikea store in the country.

The company said: "The owner of the local franchise has decided to sell it, and its purchase is an excellent opportunity for the Ikea Group, taking into account the future development of Ikea in Eastern Europe.

"There will be better synergy between retail activity and local production, as Romania is one of Ikea’supplier countries."

The value of the transaction is estimated to be 30 million Euros by Ziarul Financiar.

Ikea announced in January that sales had dropped by nine per cent year on year in 2009 at its Bucharest store.

The results contradicted Romania's retail managers’ prediction of an increase of 12 per cent in 2009.

Ikea reported sales of 85.1 million Euros (349.2 million lei) in 2009 and turnover of 99.4 million Euros in 2008.

A total of 2.5 million people visited the store in 2009, company officials said, and a total of 10 million products were sold.

Around 60 per cent of sales consisted of furniture products.

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