The company is strengthening its digital strategy through its entry into Falabella.com and celebrating e-commerce penetration exceeding 40% of total sales in Chile.

Four years after its debut in the country, Ikea has continued to refine its strategy in Chile, Colombia, and Peru, the three markets operated under Falabella’s franchise agreement.

The original plan of the world’s largest furniture retailer envisioned the opening of nine stores over a ten-year period. To date, the company has opened five stores across the region and operates two e-commerce channels.

Although more than half of the original plan has been completed, no new store openings have been recorded in Chile since 2022, while Colombia’s most recent expansion cycle was concentrated between 2023 and 2024. In Peru, meanwhile, there is still no news regarding store openings, nor about a third store in Chile.

When asked about future openings, Ikea stated that these “will be carefully evaluated and announced in due course.”

According to analysts, all indications suggest that the company’s entry into the region has been more challenging than initially anticipated.

Claudio Pizarro, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Chile and Managing Partner of CIS Consultores, argues that the roadmap was not abandoned but rather recalibrated, prioritizing an asset-light model supported by the strength of digital channels. “Four years after its debut, the expansion plan has shifted from adding square footage to optimizing assets and scaling digitally,” he said.

According to Pizarro, the slow pace of store openings in Chile is directly linked to the financial restructuring of the franchise operator. He explained that opening a standard Ikea store requires an investment of more than US$40 million.

“In a context of moderate discretionary consumption and rising construction costs, expanding with additional square meters represented a greater risk, especially considering Homecenter Sodimac’s strong presence in Chile,” he added.

The analyst also pointed to two other key factors: Falabella’s strategic priority between 2023 and 2025 was financial deleveraging and cash preservation, which limited large investments in physical retail, as well as the reallocation of capital to markets with greater growth potential. As a result, the company prioritized expansion in Colombia, a market with lower penetration of large-format home improvement retailers, while putting construction projects in Chile and Peru on hold.

A Bet on Omnichannel Retail

Against this backdrop, it was announced in mid-August that Ikea products would be available on Falabella.com.

This represents a significant milestone for the franchise, as it is the first marketplace in the Americas and Europe, and only the third globally, authorized to sell Ikea products. For now, the initiative is available only in Chile.

The company describes the partnership as “a strategic opportunity.” According to its studies, 99% of customers in the category browse or explore products before purchasing, and 34% regularly combine physical and digital channels.

“This initiative reflects how we can leverage the capabilities of the Falabella ecosystem to bring Ikea closer to more people. Another example is our partnership with the CMR Puntos loyalty program, which has enabled us to reach new customer segments and integrate Ikea into its benefits ecosystem. These complementary capabilities expand our reach and strengthen our omnichannel value proposition,” Ikea said.

For Pizarro, the partnership to sell directly through Falabella.com and enable Click & Collect services at Falabella stores throughout Chile confirms the strategic shift.

“The brand has solved its regional coverage challenge by leveraging existing logistics infrastructure rather than building additional retail space,” he noted.

Results

Despite the slower pace of physical expansion, existing locations have delivered strong performance.

The Open Kennedy store ranks among the best-performing small-store formats globally within the Swedish franchise network, while Chile’s e-commerce penetration rate is above Ikea’s worldwide average.

The company describes these four years as “a period of maturation and consolidation,” highlighting double-digit growth in Same Store Sales and improvements in EBITDA, in line with its business plan.

Combined traffic across physical stores and digital channels exceeded 80 million visits in 2025, more than doubling compared to 2023. On the digital side, e-commerce accounted for more than 40% of total sales in Chile.

Regarding service levels, Ikea reported OTIF (On-Time In-Full) performance of 98% in Chile and 97% in Colombia. The company also recorded a 20% increase in unique e-commerce customers year-to-date compared with the end of 2025.

“We agree that the roadmap is behind schedule across the region, mainly because there have been no store openings in Peru and only a limited number in Chile,” said Daniel Encina, CEO of Xbrein.

That said, in his view, Chile still offers significant room for physical expansion, both within the Metropolitan Region and across other regions of the country.

Source: Señal DF.