Just days after its May 14 announcement that it will be opening several “pick-up-point-locations” in Eastern Canada, the company said May 21 it will be opening a massive distribution centre.
The 397,000 square-foot facility will be located in Mississauga, Ontario.
“With store sales increasing along with huge growth in ecommerce, there is an opportunity to be more accessible to the many Canadians through a multi-channel environment,” Ikea Canada president Stefan Sjöstrand said in a release.
“This will be accomplished by examples such as increased services offers, pick-up-points, an improved ecommerce interface and optimized distribution services, all resulting in our customers having easier access to our products.”
The centre will fulfill orders from the company’s four existing Toronto locations as well as ecommerce purchases. The company said the new hub will “bring Ikea closer to the customer,” cutting lead times and increasing its product offering.
The distribution centre, which will create 150 jobs in HR, operations, logistics and warehouse management, has a projected opening date of October 2015. Hiring is scheduled to begin “shortly,” the company said, with recruitment taking place in stages to coincide with the development of the facility.
Ikea has no immediate plans for pick-up-points in other cities.
"As these pick-up-points are part of a global test project for this new functionality, we will make sure this model works well before expanding into new markets," the company told Business in Vancouver in an emailed statement.
The chain has 12 locations across Canada, including one in Richmond and one in Coquitlam.
Ikea has 361 stores in 50 countries around the world.
-With files from Glen Korstrom
