Re-opened Ikea centers in Europe and Asia see 80% traffic returns

Ten Ikea-anchored shopping centers in Poland opened up after 51 days of shutdown and counted an 87% return of normal traffic. An 81% footfall register was recorded at another mall in China owned by Ingka Group, Ikea’s shopping center division.

Ingka reports it has re-opened 15 of its 38 worldwide “meeting places.” All of its properties in Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Croatia opened their doors in April, along with some in Germany and China. Seven of its meeting places in Sweden and Finland remained open through the pandemic with additional health and safety guidelines.

Ingka’s LIVAT meeting place in Wuhan, the city first overwhelmed by the coronavirus, posted the lowest traffic return of 45%.

“As one of the first international businesses to encounter coronavirus, we are now amongst the first to help tenants reopen and rebuild their footfall,” said Ingka’s global managing director Gerard Groener. “While it is too early to see significant differences between markets, it is clear that customers are keen to get back to a normal life.”

Ingka Centres operates 45 centers in 15 markets in Europe, Russia, and China. Some 480 million people visit its malls each year.