IKEA Ireland is opening its first ever logistics facility in Ireland today.
The distribution centre in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, is double the size of Croke Park and is capable of housing up to 9,000 different product lines.
It marks a significant milestone in the company’s expansion within Ireland and follows investments in six plan and order points, as well as upgrades to the Ballymun store.
IKEA says the multi-million euro facility, employing over 200 people, will result in its business in Ireland having one of the shortest delivery times in Europe.
Before now, IKEA deliveries to Irish consumers required dispatch from the UK. The opening of the distribution centre will reduce delivery times to three days.
The Swedish furniture company says the move not only brings its products closer to its Irish customers but also significantly improves product availability throughout Ireland.
IKEA expects the distribution centre to be making more than 300,000 deliveries in the first year of operation, with that figure almost doubling to nearly 600,000 within five years.
Eventually the plan is to be able to deliver up to three million items a year from the centre.
“The opening of Ireland’s first IKEA distribution centre will greatly benefit our customers through faster and more reliable deliveries,” said Jakob Bertilsson, Country Customer Fullment Manager, IKEA Ireland and UK.
“It marks a key step in our ambitious expansion plans across Ireland. We remain committed to – and are continually investing in – the future of our physical store in Dublin, but we want people to enjoy the IKEA experience no matter where they choose to engage with us, whether through our full-size store, plan and order points, or online.
“This new distribution centre will greatly enable this, by increasing availability of our products and reducing lead times,” he added.
IKEA says the new distribution centre underscores its commitment to sustainability. The company says the building is one of the most sustainable and energy-efficient logistics facilities in Ireland. It has a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A2 and includes features like rainwater harvesting and roof-based solar panels.
IKEA is also transitioning to exclusive zero emission home deliveries, which together with locating the distribution centre closer to its customers, will result in significant reduction in CO2 emissions and more sustainable deliveries.
From today, it says customers with Dublin Eircodes will receive their home deliveries in zero emission vehicles. IKEA has committed to ensuring all deliveries to customers across Ireland will be exclusively in zero-emission vehicles by August 2025.
Seventeen electric vans will deliver IKEA goods across the country, with the number of zero emissions vehicles doubling by August 2025.
As of now, two zero emission vehicles will be based in Cork, two in Athlone, four at the Ballymun store, and nine at the new distribution centre.
These vans will replace diesel delivery vehicles, resulting in an estimated annual saving of 283,000 litres of diesel, equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 750 tonnes per year.
Furthermore, to secure even more renewable energy for the future, Ingka Investments, the investment arm of the company, has invested in a 10GW offshore wind project portfolio in Ireland and UK.
“The opening of this new distribution centre not only demonstrates IKEA’s desire to become more accessible to our customers in Ireland, but also our commitment to sustainability and innovation,” said Marsha Smith, Deputy CEO of IKEA Ireland and UK.