Home furnishing giant Ikea will leave its old store in Deira City Centre mall and move to Dubai Festival City next month.
The new store, which will be four times the size of the present facility, will offer 35 to 40 per cent more furniture and furnishings.
The old store will be closed by the end of this month.
"The old outlet did not show the full concept of Ikea, which is to feel, touch and try," said Siddharth Bhinde, store manager at Ikea Dubai Festival City.
In the new store, the customer can look at every product in every colour, he said, with the option of same-day delivery.
"The shoppers will now be served quicker as 22 cash registers will be installed," said Tarja Arvela, Ikea's marketing manager. "This is to ensure customer satisfaction. To add to the improvement of customer service we have hired a team of 300 co-workers."
The workforce is made up of 30 nationalities, including UAE nationals.
Marianne Barner, Ikea's global information manager, rejected comments that Ikea should raise its prices by 10 per cent to spend more on its staff, saying that Ikea's strategy is to keep lowering prices.
The retailer said, as a result of price cuts and expansion in its store, network sales to August 31 have increased 15 per cent to $17.7 billion (Dh65.02 billion).
With 35,000 square feet of space, Ikea in Dubai Festival City claims it will be the biggest store in the Middle East.
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