MANILA -- Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea on Thursday opened its first outlet in the Philippines and its biggest branch in the world. In doing so, it faces a blessing and a curse: The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged consumer spending on home improvements; it has also disrupted its global supply chain.
Ikea wants to pull in 7 million shoppers during its first full year of operation and plans to open a number of stores to serve the Southeast Asian nation of 109 million people, store manager Georg Platzer said.
