The Swedish furniture giant wants the limit on the size of retail outlets lifted, writes John McManus.
The Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, has told the Government that it would like to open a store in Ireland, but only if the limit on the size of out-of-town retail outlets is lifted. The company, famous for its simple designs, flat packs and low prices, is expected to set up in the North if it cannot get permission for a suitably sized store in the Republic.
The privately owned group normally requires up to 300,000 sq ft of retail space to showcase its full range of 11,000 products, but the size of retail outlets in the Republic is currently capped at 64,583 sq ft under the retail planning guidelines.
Concerns that IKEA could opt for a location in the North is a factor behind a review of the planning guidelines which is being undertaken by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen.
The guidelines were among a number of issues considered by the Cabinet when it met on Tuesday to review measures aimed at reviving the economy and improving competition generally.
The guidelines were originally brought in to protect Irish retailers from out-of-town developments by large international retailers. The Government is now concerned that the absence of such players in the Irish market is fuelling inflation.
There is also the scope for significant job-generation from such investment. IKEA is due to open a 300,000 sq ft store in Cardiff later this year which it says will create 500 jobs. The Department of the Environment declined to comment last night.
Currently, the only exception to planning guidelines - introduced in the wake of Tesco's purchase of Quinnsworth in 1997 - is B&Q's DIY warehouse in Liffey Valley on the M50 in Dublin. However the B&Q store is still only 100,000 square feet.
IKEA declined to comment on its negotiations with the Government. A spokesman at its London office said: "IKEA are making regular evaluations of the potential for an IKEA in Ireland. However, we do recognise that the opportunity to establish a store in Ireland may take time to materialise."
The Swedish group's desire to open a store in Ireland has been prompted by the volume of business done by its stores in Britain with Irish residents.
The most popular stores with Irish-based customers are in Glasgow and Chester, with large numbers of people from the Republic taking the trip to these stores when they are fitting out new homes or investment properties.
The IKEA group has 154 stores in 22 countries, employing some 70,000 people. In addition there are 21 IKEA stores owned and run by franchise in 14 countries.
The company was founded 44 years ago by Mr Ingvar Kamprad and last year reported sales of €9.3 million, but it does not disclose its profit figures.