Ikea bought in Romania 33,600 hectares of forest, the first acquisition of the kind conducted globally by the Swedish group specializing in retail furniture and decorations.
"Ikea Group decided to invest in forestry operations. This decision facilitates our access to sustainably managed wood raw material (...). The investment in forests is a way to diversify our assets. With this acquisition, Romania became the first country in which the Ikea Group will manage their forest operations and we intend to be an example of sustainable forest management, "said Frederik de Jong, Chairman of the Ikea Board Romania, Mediafax reports.
The property purchased is located in central and north-eastern Romania, with a small concentration and in the northwest, the statement said. Ikea has not communicated the price nor the seller.
The group thus holds in Romania – for the first time globally - both timber resources and a direct relationship with local manufacturing of furniture and finished products in stores.
According to Violeta Nenita, Operations Manager South East Europe Ikea Purchasing, Ikea cooperates with over 20 suppliers in Romania and they mainly produce sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs, baby items and ceramic products.
"More than 14,000 people work for our suppliers in Romania, and the value of the products purchased by Ikea Group in Romania rose to 400 million euros per year. We have over 15 years of collaboration with our existing suppliers, during which most of them have increased sales and significantly improved their production capacities, " Nenita added.
Ikea Group's retail division is represented in Romania by a store opened in Bucharest in 2007, and the group recently bought land for a second store, also in Bucharest.