Swedish retail giant IKEA and its sister company Ingka Centres, are poised to ramp up its expansion in Asia this month with the launch of Livat Shanghai in China and the groundbreaking of Lykli Noida, a satellite city near Delhi, India, Forbes reported.
The Livat mixed-use project in Shanghai marks IKEA’s largest single investment in China, exceeding $1.1 billion and covering 4.6 million square feet. The development features a large IKEA store, five office buildings, and 312 retail outlets, with approximately 70% of them being debut or special concept stores, according to Ingka Centres. The complex will also offer public spaces such as Breezing Terrace, Scandi Village, and the Treehouse playground.
Meanwhile, Lykli Noida is scheduled to open in 2028 and will feature a mixed-use development with 240 retailers, two office towers, and a hotel, all anchored by an IKEA store. This will be the second centrein India.
‘It’s our biggest investment in China so far, so it’s really taking the full concept into a destination where we will have many international brands such as Decathlon, Uniqlo, Muji, plus amazing Chinese concepts in retail and food, a movie theater, a fantastic toy store experience, a lot of public community space, plus the a Scandi Village on the rooftop with small houses,’ Ingka Centres Managing Director Cindy Andersen commented.
‘In India, we are in a bit earlier phase of our journey, we are new in the center journey, but at the same time we have vast experience from IKEA, which has been present for many years,’ Andersen added. ‘So we have a long experience in both developing and operating in India and Noida will also include offices and a hotel, which is ground-breaking for us, because we haven’t had that before.’
In North America and Europe, IKEA has primarily focused on redeveloping existing shopping centers into mixed-use developments anchored by urban-format stores. However, in Asia, the company is taking a more expansive approach to its growth strategy.
