Thursday’s (Nov 25) opening was feted with an event attended by Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin. Ikea’s cult-favourite Swedish meatballs were served to some attendees, and they were accompanied for the big day by a special Philippine twist – adobo sauce.

Ikea opened its largest store in the world in the Philippines, with the new 730,000 sq ft facility in Manila a cornerstone of the home-furnishing giant’s expansion plans in Asia.

The store was scheduled to open in 2020, but faced delays due to Covid-19 movement restrictions and the disruption of construction material supplies. It is part of a move to expand in Asia, with the brand recently unveiling its second store in India.

The Philippine debut comes despite Ikea forecasting a more difficult year ahead in 2022, due to logistics logjams and price spikes of raw materials brought about by the pandemic. Despite the supply crunch and challenges keeping stores and warehouses stocked, the company managed to report record sales last year.

According to straitstimes