PETALING JAYA (Nov 16): IKEA Tebrau welcomed its first customers this morning, said the Swedish furniture retailer in a press release today.

At 502,815 sq ft with 54 Swedish-inspired showrooms, the store is its first in southern Peninsular Malaysia and its largest in Southeast Asia.

“After many months of preparation, we are excited to finally open our doors and present customers with the unique IKEA shopping experience many Malaysians have come to know and love. With this new store, we will strive to achieve our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people in Johor and southern Malaysia,” said IKEA Southeast Asia retail director Mike King.

“With over 8,000 well-designed, quality and affordable Swedish home furnishings; delectable food at the IKEA Restaurant, Bistro and Swedish Food Market; and småland, a supervised play area for kids, we are certain that IKEA Tebrau will provide a great day for the entire family,” he added.

IKEA had visited the homes of Johoreans before opening its Tebrau store to glean insights into their lives.

“We go to all extent to ensure our store, products and home furnishing inspirations appeals to local community. The home furnishing showcased at this store is well suited for the local market and their increasingly urbanised lifestyle.

“With a team of over 300 co-workers, we are ready to serve more than 1.8 million customers residing within 60 minutes from the store and millions more beyond that,” said IKEA Tebrau store manager Annie Chandler.

IKEA Tebrau has an indoor and outdoor car park with 1,771 parking bays.

It is also accessible via a free shuttle from Larkin Sentral and the Muzium Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd.

Moreover, in conjunction with the store’s opening, IKEA has partnered with Grab to offer a promo code “IKEATEBRAU17”, which grants a RM8 discount for two Grab rides from Nov 16 to Dec 31 within Johor Bahru.