(Yicai Global) Nov. 5 -- IKEA will continue to invest in China, which remains one of its most strategic markets, the chief executive officer of the Swedish flat-pack furniture giant’s China division told Yicai Global today.

The Delft, Netherlands-based company is already ploughing CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion), one its biggest investment plans ever, into the country to develop new digital solutions, new store formats, new customer-meeting points and new online and offline channels, said Anna Kuliga, who is also president and chief sustainability officer of IKEA China.

Many of the IKEA group’s global programs are being piloted in China. It has opened a digital innovation hub, a ‘store of tomorrow,’ in Shanghai that focuses on providing digital solutions to satisfy the Chinese market’s demands.

IKEA, which entered the China market 22 years ago, has also launched a product development center that helps Chinese consumers participate in the creation of IKEA wares to ensure that they fulfill local shoppers’ needs both today and tomorrow, she added.

The Swedish firm has doubled its display area at this year’s China International Import Expo to 360 square meters. Its main message will be one of sustainable development and it will showcase a number of products, such as sustainable foods and sustainable goods, to inspire Chinese customers to create a world in which the environment doesn’t need protection anymore, she added.

Editor: Kim Taylor