[size=75:19ls48w4]novinite November 25, 2009

Congested Beltway Threatens Opening of 1st IKEA Store in Bulgaria

Swedish furniture company IKEA is going to open its first Bulgarian store in mid 2011.

This has been announced by Bulgarian Regional Development Minister, Rosen Plevneliev, on Wednesday after he met with representatives of the Greek firms Fourlis and Danaos Group in Athens, Greece, which are going invest in the opening of the IKEA store.

About EUR 300 M will be invested in the IKEA store in Sofia, which will be located on the beltway of the Bulgarian capital;
800 jobs will be created as a result.

Two more IKEA stores will be opened as well – one in Varna, and another one in the Plovdiv-Stara Zagora region in the south.

Minister Plevneliev said the big issue was how the IKEA store on the Sofia beltway was going to operate since it would attract a lot of traffic, and there are beltway construction works scheduled for that period of time. He explained his Ministry was most likely going to focus first on the construction of the part where the future IKEA store would be located.

Plevnelieve made it clear that the 2,7 km “missing road” from the Simeonovsko Shose to the Mladost 4 Quarter could not be built earlier than the end of 2011. In his words, he had been very sincere with the Greek investors.

Thus, the Bulgarian government and the Greek firms have reached an agreement for the building of a temporary road going around the congested sections of the beltway to be under construction.

Plevneliev stressed the government wanted to do everything possible in order to make sure that the construction of the first IKEA store in Bulgaria would start on time in March 2010.

IKEA opened its doors in Sofia in mid-2011

The chain store IKEA in Sofia will be opened in mid-2011 This is considered the Minister of Regional Development and Public Rosen Plevneliev meeting with the team of companies' Furlis "
behind the investment, and"
Danaos Group, which plans construction of a large shopping center to IKEA, cited by BTA.

Plevneliev Minister in the delegation of President Georgi Parvanov for his state visit to Greece. Plevneliev Minister in the delegation of President Georgi Parvanov for his state visit to Greece.
Investment for both projects is 300 million. Investment for both projects is 300 million.

The first IKEA store in Bulgaria will be located at the intersection of Ring Road and Bistrishko road and the area will be 28 000 кв.м. The first IKEA store in Bulgaria will be located at the intersection of Ring Road and Bistrishko road and the area will be 28 000 кв.м. Has already issued a building permit and the intention of building his company to be launched in March 2010 Has already issued a building permit and the intention of building his company to be launched in March 2010

The meeting was expressed pritestenieto of Furlis "
the period of the opening of IKEA in June 2011 to coincide with the completion of Ring Road and has been the issue of how the store, which will generate more traffic, it will work. The meeting was expressed pritestenieto of Furlis "
the period of the opening of IKEA in June 2011 to coincide with the completion of Ring Road and has been the issue of how the store, which will generate more traffic, it will work.

Plevneliev minister said the talks were entered into specific commitments by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works Agency Road Infrastructure (API) for the eventual separation of construction activities on the ring road and two divisions in the area around the repair shop IKEA can be made faster. Plevneliev minister said the talks were entered into specific commitments by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works Agency Road Infrastructure (API) for the eventual separation of construction activities on the ring road and two divisions in the area around the repair shop IKEA can be made faster.

But he stressed that in all cases, the missing 2.7 kilometers from the Ring Road - from road to Simeonovsko Mladost 4 can not be built earlier than the end of 2011, why was the meeting commented on the temporary connection to IKEA, Plevneliev minister said. But he stressed that in all cases, the missing 2.7 kilometers from the Ring Road - from road to Simeonovsko Mladost 4 can not be built earlier than the end of 2011, why was the meeting commented on the temporary connection to IKEA, Plevneliev minister said.

It will run in a separate procedure because pravitelvstvoto wants to do everything possible in March 2010 to start construction of the IKEA store in Sofia, the minister said. It will run in a separate procedure because pravitelvstvoto wants to do everything possible in March 2010 to start construction of the IKEA store in Sofia, the minister said. He added that he would be working on a concept of temporary connection, which will need no more than three months. He added that he would be working on a concept of temporary connection, which will need no more than three months. The draft of the IKEA store in Sofia will be created around 800 jobs. The draft of the IKEA store in Sofia will be created around 800 jobs.

At the meeting the company "
Furlis"
announced that he intends to make three IKEA stores in Bulgaria - the second is to be discussed in Varna, the third - will be in the area of Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, said Minister Plevneliev. Meeting the company "
Furlis"
announced that he intends to make three IKEA stores in Bulgaria - the second is to be discussed in Varna, the third - will be in the area of Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, said Minister Plevneliev.

In Bulgaria, producing components for IKEA furniture for over 45 million per year. In Bulgaria, producing components for IKEA furniture for over 45 million per year. In Athens Plevneliev Rosen met with Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Dimitris Repas and Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Dimitris Drutsas. In Athens Plevneliev Rosen met with Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Dimitris Repas and Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Dimitris Drutsas. She has highlighted the importance for both sides of the opening of new border checkpoints th. She has highlighted the importance for both sides of the opening of new border checkpoints th.

Bulgarian government and the president made a very focused campaign in Greece to do so to open at least one local checkpoint - Zlatograd-Termes, and to prioritize work on points-Kardjali Komotini, which should also be open, "
said Rosen Plevneliev. Bulgarian government and the president made a very focused campaign in Greece to do so to open at least one local checkpoint - Zlatograd-Termes, and to prioritize work on points-Kardjali Komotini, which should also be open, "
said Rosen Plevneliev.

He expressed hope in a few weeks to have a concrete date for opening of border crossings Zlatograd-Termes. He expressed hope in a few weeks to have a concrete date for opening of border crossings Zlatograd-Termes. For the point-Komotini Kardjali presidents of Bulgaria and Greece agreed that to happen in 2010 For the point-Komotini Kardjali presidents of Bulgaria and Greece agreed that to happen in 2010.

[size=75:3a9xhw44]Sofia echo Fri, Dec 04 2009

Two more years of patience

Bulgarian fans of Swedish furniture maker IKEA will soon have two reasons to feel delighted. Although construction of the first IKEA store in Bulgaria on Sofia’s ring road has been delayed, expectations are that the IKEA store should start making its appearance at the begining of 2010. Moreover, a second store is poised to open about 150km west of Sofia in the Serbian town of Nis, which will save Bulgarian customers the 300km trip to Thessaloniki or the 400km journey to Bucharest.

Better late than never
The first IKEA in Bulgaria is set to open by the third or fourth quarter of 2011, Georgios Alevizos, financial director of Fourlis, the Greek company that holds the IKEA rights in Bulgaria. Construction was delayed for objective reasons, he said. As in other places, getting the required paperwork in hand took time in Bulgaria, according to Alevizos.

This time around, however, most of the documentation was successfully processed, and soon enough, construction will begin. Fourlis foresees building the store at the Sofia Ring Road in Malinova Dolina in the first quarter of 2010. The completion of such a project usually requires about 18 months, which means the maiden IKEA retail centre in Sofia will be ready in a little less than two years.

More good news
Soon, Bulgarians who were prepared to travel hundreds of kilometres just to buy IKEA goods will have yet another option to do so, but quicker and cheaper.
The reason is the IKEA that is to open in the Serbian town of Nis, where the Swedes are not relying on Greece’s Fourlis but instead are to enter the local market directly, which means that clients will be able to enjoy the real competitiveness of the products and price ranges offered by IKEA.

Although IKEA’s Nis store is poised to open after the one in Sofia is completed, most of its clients are expected to be from Bulgaria and Macedonia, as Nis is a relatively small town which is unlikely to generate the business needed to succeed. However, being only a two-hour drive from Sofia, IKEA is expecting a large influx of Bulgarian shoppers.
Bulgarians will have another incentive to travel the slightly longer distance to Nis and shop there instead of the store near Sofia. If the Nis store opens before Serbia joins the European Union, Bulgarian shoppers will get back the VAT they paid.

Competition and customers
Although there is still time before the two stores open, it is apparent that there will be serious competition between them to attract Bulgarian customers.

IKEA’s Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian operations director Dragan Skalusevic said that the Nis store plans were still at a very early stage and that the store will be ready after the one in Sofia opens. Regarding the advantage from the VAT reimbursement, he said that this depends on Serbia’s law on the issue. Price ranges in the Serbian store will be pegged in accordance with local standards, which he said, "
is the traditional policy of IKEA"
.

Fourlis, on the other hand, is adamant that the Nis operation will not dampen their own ambitions in Sofia. According to Alevizos, the distance that Sofia customers will have to cover to Nis will play a significant role, and besides, the expansion of the Greek company in Bulgaria will not limit itself to the capital.

He said that Fourlis was contemplating further expansion on the Bulgarian market, which includes the country’s Black Sea resorts in particular, followed by a retail centre in Plovdiv. For the moment, however, these are just ideas on the board, as Fourlis has not purchased land outside the capital.

Balkan expansion
Concurrently, IKEA are contemplating expansion further west on the Balkans, for example in Belgrade, although not in the immediate future as the company is yet to find suitable land for its operations and was still discussing other locations, Skalusevic said.

IKEA’s plans to build up the capacity of operations for the moment have been hampered by onerous bureaucratic complications, poor infrastructure and the high price of land.
"
In Belgrade, for example, land is sold at a price sometimes three times higher than similar land in Budapest, while at the same time lacking proper infrastructure,"
he said.

Apart from this, IKEA envisages establishing a firmer foothold in the region between 2010-2020. The Swedish company has already acquired land in Zagreb, where a store is to open by 2011, and there are plans for a retail centre in Ljubljana.

All this indicated that the Swedes are serious about spreading throughout the Balkans. In July the general manager of IKEA for Russia and Eastern Europe, Per Kauffman, told news agency Reuters that expansion in the Balkans was logical, because eight per cent of the clients in Budapest came from Serbia, while Croatians made up to 25 per cent of the turnover in the IKEA store in Gratz, Austria.

The proportion of Bulgarian customers currently shopping in Greece and Romania was not disclosed, but it is believed to be "
substantial"
.

All sound very good and promising lets hope that gred by the land owners don't stop the progression that Bulgaria desperately needs

Yes you are so very right nu2bg just because it's a multimillion $ company doesn't meant they are stupid but you try and tell that to some of the Bulgarians who think they are