IKEA opened its doors to customers with a ceremony held on the occasion of the opening of the Anatolium Ankara Retail Park, a giant shopping center that accommodates the global furniture retailer, together with Leroy Merlin, one of Europe's top "Do It Yourself (DIY)" and home improvement retail groups, Turkey's leading supermarket chain Kipa and electronics retailer ElectroWorld.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nuri Ozsuer, a high-level official from Turkey's Maya Holding which has built the retail park, said that his company had invested 160 million USD in the construction of the shopping area that would create employment opportunities for nearly 3,000 people.
Maya Holding's Fuat Atalay said in his part that IKEA Turkey aimed at introducing Turkish customers with well-designed quality products at low prices.
Atalay stated that IKEA, which currently operated in 38 countries all around the globe, made remarkable contributions to the sectoral developments and employment opportunities in these countries.
The official also said IKEA would continue to grow in Turkey by opening new stores inside Anatolium Retail Parks that would be built in different parts of the country.
IKEA is one of the world's largest furniture retailers which offers a wide range of low-priced functional home furnishing products.
The company, which started as a small furniture store in Sweden in 1940s, later turned into a world-wide home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories.
IKEA Ankara is the brand's 5th and largest store in Turkey following the two stores in Istanbul, one in Izmir and one in Bursa.
The store has been built on a 34,000 squaremeter area and currently employs 450 people.
