Ikea’s first New Zealand store will be built in the Auckland suburb of Mt Wellington, on the other side of the railway line behind the Sylvia Park shopping centre. 

A 3.2 ha site is part of a collection of land titles aggregated in recent years by Kiwi Property Group, which is planning residential and other retail projects in the vicinity. That site will be sold to the Swedish company, or its franchise-operating subsidiary, subject to the formality of Overseas Investment Office consent. 

Ikea has been planning a New Zealand store for many years and in June said an announcement on future plans was imminent, however no further details were disclosed until this week when Kiwi revealed its land-sale plan. 

In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Kiwi Property Group CEO Clive MacKenzie said the company also plans to build another new retail development adjacent to Sylvia Park, which Inside Retail understands is likely to house bulky goods retailers. 

“This is all part of a journey for Sylvia Park to become a world-leading mixed-use development site with potentially Ikea opening a store, it just cements the site as a fantastic retail location for the whole of New Zealand,” he said.

Ikea’s site is located opposite an existing Farmers department store. While the Ikea store and the bulky goods precinct will be built on the other side of the railway line, bridges integrated with the railway station will allow people to walk between them.  

Besides the new retail developments, Kiwi is building an apartment complex and an office building in the hub.