IKEA, a world leader in furniture and design, has announced plans to open its first store in Bahrain in a premium destination mall in the kingdom's capital Manama.

The 30,000 sq m store will be part of the expansion plan by IKEA Saudi Arabia, a member of the Ghassan Ahmed Al Sulaiman Furnishing Company.

The company has not revealed the name of the mall in its statement.

The company also plans to establish 10 more stores in Saudi Arabia in the coming years.

"With the land already purchased and the first initial design phase finalised and submitted, Bahraini residents will be able to take advantage of IKEA’s wide range of services within the next three years," said a statement issued by the company.

Just like the rest of its stores in the region, IKEA Bahrain will provide customers with a full range of products and inspiration on how to tastefully design and style their living space, it said.

Saud Ghassan Al Sulaiman, CEO of IKEA Saudi Arabia, said: “Our expansion into the Gulf is part of our vision, to serve customers throughout the region and follow the needs of the market, as well as provide our home furnishing competency, and while still serving the growing Saudi market, we are committed to expand our services into the Gulf by opening our first branch in Bahrain.”

Al Sulaiman added: “We would like to express our appreciation to our loyal and supportive customers because without them, such expansion would not be possible.”

Since its establishment, IKEA has expanded throughout the Saudi Arabia, with a total of three stores, in each Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran.

Meanwhile, IKEA Saudi Arabia has launched an exclusive offer of 15 per cent discount on purchases of SR1,000 or more, which can be redeemed from September until December 2014. - TradeArabia News Service