The new store is located at the Mondego Retail Park in Taveiro, approximately 12 kilometres from the centre of Coimbra. Speaking to The Portugal News, Guilherme Ribeiro, Store Manager at IKEA Coimbra, said that the location is “the perfect setting for us to launch this new ‘small but powerful’ store concept — the first of its kind in Portugal.”

Access to the store

Still on the subject of the choice of location, Guilherme Ribeiro revealed to The Portugal News that the Mondego Retail Park was the brand’s choice, partly due to its proximity to the A1, the motorway linking Lisbon to Porto. Furthermore, the site features “a large retail park and free parking for 1,300 vehicles”, offering customers a range of transport options.

In addition to easy access for private cars, you can also reach the Mondego Retail Park from Coimbra by bus, with a stop located right at the site. Although it is a little farther away, it is also possible to reach Taveiro by train.

Connection with Coimbra

Credits: TPN; Author: Bruno G. Santos;

IKEA’s connection with Coimbra dates back to December 2021, when, at the Coimbra Forum, the brand opened the “Planning and Ordering Studio”, which, according to Guilherme Ribeiro, “brought them closer to the city and the region.”

Five years on, IKEA is taking another step forward “with the first store of this new format in Portugal”, which it considers “a significant milestone” in the brand’s strategy for both its physical expansion and service development.

This same Planning and Ordering Studio ultimately proved important for a market study in Coimbra. Guilherme Ribeiro reveals that the store at Fórum Coimbra brought the brand “closer to the city and the region”, which enabled it to “closely monitor how the people of Coimbra plan and improve their homes.” In other words, the five years IKEA spent in Coimbra, in a more modest format, were essential to being able to consider opening a store in the region.

Filling geographical gaps

IKEA currently has five stores in Portugal: two in the north of the country (Matosinhos and Braga), two in Greater Lisbon (Alfragide and Loures) and one in the Algarve (Loulé). Consequently, the nearest store for Coimbra residents was 120 kilometres away.

Guilherme Ribeiro told The Portugal News that, as a result, “Coimbra will now play a key role in meeting the needs of the city and neighbouring towns”, such as Leiria, Aveiro and Viseu.

In a press release, Coimbra City Council echoed the comments made by Guilherme Ribeiro to The Portugal News, stating that “the new store will serve the municipality of Coimbra and the entire surrounding region, offering local families convenient access to sustainable furniture and home décor solutions.” The municipality of Coimbra also adds that the shop’s location helps to democratise “access to functional and sustainable furniture and interior design solutions”, eliminating the need for journeys – which could be costly – to shops located in Greater Lisbon or in the north of the country.

The impact of the new store in Coimbra will also be felt in the local economy, starting with the creation of 37 jobs, 15 of which will be transferred from the Planning Studio, which opened in 2021 at Fórum Coimbra.

The Coimbra store

The head of IKEA in Coimbra notes that customers will have access to a completely different store compared to the Planning and Ordering Studio. Speaking to The Portugal News, Guilherme Ribeiro describes the new store as “an inspiring IKEA experience”, where customers will have access to the most popular products from IKEA stores, as well as the renowned “furnished showrooms that bring our interior design solutions to life.” Guilherme Ribeiro adds that there will be “around 2,000 products available to take home straight away.”

The Coimbra store will also feature a Circular Area, “where customers can find products in good condition at more affordable prices, ready for a second life.”

Also at Mondego Retail Park, visitors to the Coimbra store will have access to the well-known IKEA Food, with dishes favoured by IKEA customers, such as “meatballs, hot dogs and cinnamon buns”, although, according to Guilherme Ribeiro, “the store does not have a restaurant.”

Complementing digital services

As reported to The Portugal News by Guilherme Ribeiro, the Coimbra store was designed “to work in complete synergy with our digital services.”

At present, online purchases account for over 20 per cent of sales in Portugal, and “customers will be able to continue using our digital tools to view or order any product from our catalogue, even if it is not physically available in the store.”