Business & Money | Thursday 27 October, 2016 12:35 pm |

In line with its expansion plans, Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman Furniture Trading Co. Ltd, IKEA Saudi Arabia, the leading home furnishings retailer in the Kingdom, announced plans to open its first Order and Collection Points to get closer to customers across the Kingdom. The first locations will be positioned in Kharj and Qassim starting early next year.

The retail area in the Order and Collection Points will be approximately 1000 m2, and will represent a new IKEA concept, that provides IKEA shopping experiences to customers who cannot make long trips to the larger stores, by bringing it closer to them. Order and Collection Points will also provide customers an opportunity to engage with IKEA coworkers and ask questions, touch and feel products and get ideas and inspiration on how to furnish their homes. Customers will also be able to browse a range of products that are not displayed at the Order and Collection Points through IKEA’s catalogue or via IKEA’s website and still be able to purchase them at the store or online. Once the products are ordered from these points, customers will receive a notification to either collect the items from the Order and Collection Points or have them delivered to their doorsteps for a reasonable fee.

Order and Collection Points are a complementary function of the IKEA store serving as a delivery consolidation point for paid goods outside of the primary market area of the main IKEA store.

 “It is really vital for us that we are able to provide our home furnishing solutions to all our customers, wherever they may be. We are always looking for new ways to make the shopping journey more accessible and easier for our customers.” said Faisal Al Gain, Country Marketing Manager of IKEA Saudi Arabia

“Our decision to open in these two cities stems from the extensive research efforts that we have conducted over the last few months to know where our customers are located and how we can make it easier for them to access our stores.” He added

The concept was created to provide further convenience and accessibility to customers in the Kingdom, giving them the opportunity to either make their purchases through IKEA’s online portals or physically in the new Order and Collection Points.

The products available in the Order and Collection Points will be facilitated through IKEA’s online portal which will allow customers to browse through the products available and place their orders at these points.

Order and Collection Points will offer similar services as the main IKEA store, which include; exchanges and returns, sales and planning assistance, ordering of products, and other services such as delivery and assembly.

The e-commerce portal and the Order and Collection points go hand in hand to provide existing and potential customers with better accessibility and services. It offers customers an online shopping experience, with the same quality of products, services and prices, where they can order online and pick up their items at the Order and Collection point in their vicinity, at their own convenience.