ISTANBUL (AA) - Swedish originated Ikea, which sells furniture and accessories, opened its Istanbul shopping center in Umraniye district on Thursday.
Speaking at opening of the shopping center, Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said, ''Ikea's export volume from Turkey reached 1 billion USD in the last 10 years. Ikea's opening a shopping center in Istanbul is also a sign of confidence towards Turkey.''
''Ikea has an export figure of 230 million USD in 2004 and it plans to reach 280 million USD in 2005. Ikea aims to reach 600 million USD worth of exports within few years,'' added Tuzmen.
Hans Skalin, Director of Inter Ikea, said that they wanted to remain in Turkish market and added that their products' price and quality are OK as far as Turkish people are concerned.
Meanwhile, Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim visited the shopping center and indicated that Ikea will also open centers in other districts of Istanbul.
(GC-ULG)
2005-05-05