This week, IKEA Ireland has opened its first-ever logistics facility in Ireland. 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 make 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 Fulfilment 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 the 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.

“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.

(Source: RTÉ)