IKEA buys 33.600 hectares of forests in Romania

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Swedish furniture giant IKEA group announced the purchase of 33.600 hectares of forests central and north-eastern Romania. The value of the investment was not disclosed, however the market value of one hectare of forests in those regions indicate that IKEA might have spent around EUR 100 million. One hectare of forests in Romania worths around EUR 3,000-4000. As reported by Romanian news agency Mediafax, it seems the name of the seller is Greengold European Capital AB, headquartered in Stockholm.

Romania is the first country where IKEA buys its own forest. The group says that this investement would facilitate the access to raw materials. 

“The investment in woodland is a way for us to diversify our assets. We are happy to expand our forestry activities to Romania, a country that’s important for our furniture production,” said Frederik de Jong, Chairman of the Board, IRI Investments SRL, IKEA’s subsidiary that manages this investment.

IKEA works in Romania with over 20 suppliers, which produce sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs and others. “More than 14,000 people work for our suppliers in Romania, and the value of the products IKEA group purchases from Romania is over EUR 400 million per year,” said Violeta Nenita, Purchasing Operations Manager South East Europe IKEA Purchasing, quoted by Romanian media. 

IKEA’s retail division operates a store in Romania, located in northern Bucharest, which opened in 2007. The group recently purchased a land plot in eastern Bucharest for a second store.

IKEA Romania had a turnover of EUR 88 million and a net profit of EUR 2.5 million last year, according to official data from the Finance Ministry. The company has 470 employees.

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