With few alternative outlets for budget furniture purchases, a visit to Ikea is almost unavoidable for those setting up home in the UAE. Whether you're buying an Ektorp sofa and Billy bookcases or popping in for a new duvet cover or bumper bag of tea lights, the Marina Mall store has become a destination familiar to thousands of residents.
The UAE's first taste of Ikea came when a small shop opened up in Karama, Dubai, in 1991. Twenty years later, the Swedes' success here is evident with the opening of a mammoth new store on Yas Island, at which an estimated 1.3 million of us will visit this year.
The completion of the store - the largest Ikea in the Middle East - also meant the closing of Abu Dhabi's original, smaller Marina Mall location, news that did not go down well with car-less residents in the capital.
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Also
• The future of Yas Island is malls and a water park
• China proves resistant to do-it-yourself stores
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As one disgruntled regular put it: "Yas Island? I don't want to take a Dh50 taxi ride just to buy a potato masher."
The store is three times the size of the one in Marina Mall, and significantly larger than the Dubai Festival City branch. But a visit there now means an hour of round-trip travel from Abu Dhabi by taxi or shuttle bus, and (as we discovered) a potentially long wait for a taxi back to the city.
Occupying out-of-town locations is a key part of the firm's business strategy. By luring customers away from city centres out to large superstores, it reasons, shoppers are more inclined to make a dedicated trip, tend to buy more and are probably less willing to make a return trip to take back unwanted purchases. Judging from the number of customers in store in the first weekend of opening, however, Abu Dhabi is already embracing the change.
The new location has plenty of positives, too. The larger premises mean that all the products are available in the store, eliminating the need to wait while your furniture is brought in from Dubai - or worse, until the next goods shipment arrives from abroad, which can mean a wait of several weeks.
"Having all the products available under one roof means that our customers are able to take away purchases on the same day," says the store's manager, James McGowan. "We are also able to hold sufficient stock cover, which ensures that our service level to the customer is not affected, helping us to achieve our goal of instant gratification."
So far, this appears to be the case. All the large furniture items we asked about ordering could be delivered to our home within three days. The delivery cost remains a flat Dh100, and it's free if you spend more than Dh2,500. An essential service if you're relying on the shuttle bus.
You can, of course, purchase a fair bit with your dirhams. The cost of its goods is Ikea's biggest customer incentive. It sets its prices at 10 per cent lower than those of its local rivals to send the message that the journey will be worth it. The Ikea philosophy also follows a principle that the Scandinavians hold dear: democratised design. This is the idea that, as Professor Robert Reid explains, that life is enhanced when form and function are celebrated and good design should be made available to all.
The success of Ikea's approach is undisputed. When the notoriously secretive company opened its books two years ago for the first time in its 51-year history, it revealed profits of €2.5 billion (Dh13 billion) for a single financial year. It currently has more than 280 stores in 26 countries, employs 123,000 people, and last year it printed 198 million copies of its catalogue in 56 editions and 27 languages.
The scale of the Yas Island store underlines the strength of consumer demand for Ikea products here. It's evident as soon as the entrance escalator delivers you to the first-floor showroom. Aisles are wide and spacious, and there are 58 room sets to browse, including two fully designed open-plan "homes" that customers can walk through. Each is carefully styled so customers can take away ideas for decorating an entire residence and making the most of limited space. The kitchen design section and the massive accessories and warehouse department occupy the ground floor. Everything is bigger, brighter with a considerably larger selection of goods.
At the end of the walk-through departments on the first floor is a light, bright cafeteria area. The restaurant opens at 9.30am, serving a Dh4 breakfast to lure in early bird shoppers half an hour before trading begins. The ground floor also has a supervised children's play zone called Småland that is staffed with experienced minders and was already attracting a long queue of eager kids (and relieved parents).
One of the store's first customers on opening day was Mary Carter, an Irish expatriate living in Dubai, who was shopping for dining room furniture with her husband. "It is very impressive and has a nice airy feel," she said of the new store. "It is the kind of place you would be better coming to early in the day because it is so big you would want to take time to see everything. I think it will be immensely popular."
McGowan says the main appeal of the Ikea experience, apart from the low prices, is that everything is available under one roof and that staff look after purchase, delivery and customer care issues down to the last detail.
"Customers love the fact they can take their furniture home the same day and enjoy it," he says. "Plus, because of all our on-site facilities it is a nice day out for the whole family, no matter how much you intend to buy. People feel happy when they come to Ikea."
The emotional experience aside, there is no denying the pulling power of this most unique of brands, which is good news for Yas Island restaurants in need of more traffic. A major new mall and more stand-alone stores, including a new Ace Hardware, are planned for 2013, but for now the superstore's familiar blue and yellow colours represent the only retail presence on the island. So if it's only a potato masher you're after, make sure they're in stock before making the trip.
Opening hours
10am to 10pm daily (restaurant opens at 9.30am for breakfast)
Parking
1,355 spaces are provided
Restaurant
Features 445 seats
Checkout
There are 35 aisles
Contact
800 4532
Getting there
A free shuttle bus service operates seven days a week between Marina Mall and Ikea Yas Island. The public bus service operates every 20 minutes for Yas Island to Abu Dhabi city (bus 290). There is a taxi point located near the entrance of the store, although when we visited (on a weekday afternoon), none were visible. A sign at the store's exit advises customers to call the TransAd booking service on 600 535 3535. "We are currently working on a local awareness initiative to ensure that we have sufficient taxis available to meet our customer demand," an Ikea representative said.
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jebel Ali results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 64,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
4pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 96,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
4.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Torno Subito, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Indika
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Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp
Torque: 240Nm
Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)
On sale: Now
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Company%20profile
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