PENANGITES, especially those on Penang mainland can now have easier accessibility to the well-known Swedish furniture brand IKEA after its first store in northern region is opened in Batu Kawan today.
Previously, IKEA fans in the northern region had to travel to Selangor to shop for IKEA’s affordable furnitures.
Now with the official opening of the fourth IKEA store in the country in Batu Kawan, it will be able to reduce the shoppers’ travelling time.
The latest IKEA store has a 470,146sq ft retail space.
Three other IKEA stores are located in Cheras, Damansara and Tebrau.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who was present to grace the opening ceremony, lauded IKEA for successfully establishing their first store in the northern region.
“Batu Kawan in Penang is set to undergo a major transformation into a vibrant area.
“It is the state’s aspiration to develop Batu Kawan to be a modern and intelligent township.
“Batu Kawan, which was formerly underdeveloped, is now growing into an exciting township, with 4,017 residential and commercial units besides having facilities such as IKEA, KDU University College and Design Village.
“Leading property developers such as EcoWorld, Paramount, Aspen Group and Penang Development Corporation (PDC) participated in the development of Batu Kawan,” Chow said in his speech during the opening ceremony.
Also present were Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, IKEA Southeast Asia managing director Christian Roejkjaer and IKEA Batu Kawan store manager A. Pathmalingam.
Lim concurred with Chow that IKEA had brought in a great development to Batu Kawan and the mainland.
He said the store was built with ‘sustainability in mind’.
“It proves that sustainability can contribute positively to making a profitable business decision,” he said.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud
Video by Law Suun Ting