IKEA has finally opened its store in Casablanca, Morocco. Spanning 27 square meters, the retail space is located in the Zenata industrial area, north of Casablanca.
With an investment of 40 million euros, the store was built using a specific system and materials that allow for savings in water and energy consumption. It is managed by Spanish professionals and employs 400 workers, almost all of whom are Moroccan.
According to Marcos Agudo, general manager of IKEA Morocco, the project is the result of three years of analysis of the local market, which, in his view, has great potential. The manager expects that in the first year this store will receive at least one and a half million customers.
The point of sale offers eight thousand products, of which more than a thousand have prices lower than in Europe.
This opening brings an end to a conflict with Moroccan authorities that lasted more than five months. This store was scheduled to open at the end of September, but the local government prohibited its opening a few hours before the inauguration, citing the lack of an urban planning compliance certificate, although political motivations are also alleged, namely the Swedish government's draft law to recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
