IKEA proves winner for Sylvia Park owner Kiwi Property
Sales are also up at the mall's other furniture stores.
The flat-pack retailer IKEA has been boosting foot traffic at Sylvia Park, an Auckland shopping mall owned by Kiwi Property, according to a market update released on Monday. Eight months after IKEA's arrival in New Zealand, the property investment company reported a 25 percent increase in visits to the mall's upper level. This surge in visitors is attributed to the pedestrian walkway connecting the mall with IKEA, which opened in December of the previous year.
Contrary to expectations that IKEA might draw customers away from other furniture stores, Kiwi Property noted that sales are up across the shopping center's furniture stores. At Sylvia Park Lifestyle, located across the road from IKEA, furniture sales have seen significant growth, up more than 30 percent in June compared to the same month last year, and up over 15 percent from December to June compared to the previous period.
IKEA seems to be creating a furniture precinct across both sites, with shoppers comparing and purchasing products at both locations. Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group suggested that the furniture sector isn't currently experiencing growth due to the end of the big post-pandemic spend on big-ticket items. However, he believes that IKEA and other lifestyle businesses have created a significant destination value, enabling them to capture a dominant share of the market.
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