Dubai's Al-Futtaim Group to hire 1,500 people for IKEA outlets

Al Futtaim Group will open the UAE's largest IKEA store and Festival Plaza shopping mall in the middle of next month and plans to have another IKEA outlet in Sharjah in the near future.
Vinod Jayan, managing director of IKEA for UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Oman, said IKEA will recruit another 1,500 to double its workforce in the next 2-3 years as it embarks on aggressive expansion across four countries where it operates.
"Second IKEA outlet in Dubai is set to open in mid-December. For our consumers in Sharjah, we have plans to open there but more details will be announced next year.
"In the first quarter of 2021, we will be opening in Oman. In Egypt, we will be opening our second store towards the end of next year," Jayan said during the media briefing on Tuesday.
"Al-Futtaim plans to double IKEA's total manpower and increase UAE workforce by 50 per cent over the next 24 to 36 months, so a lot of new people will come in. Hiring is complete for Jebel Ali outlet and the next hiring will be for the outlets in Sharjah, Egypt and Oman operations," he said, adding that a full-fledged training centre and central office responsible for the region will also be shifting adjacent to this store.
The new store is spread over 32,5000 square metres, linking with the Festival Plaza shopping mall. It is the largest IKEA store under Al-Futtaim IKEA.
On Tuesday, the world's biggest furniture retailer reported an operating profit of 2.03 billion euros worldwide for its fiscal year through August, down from 2.25 billion euros a year-earlier.
Jayan said: "Many of the people working with IKEA have been with us for a longer period of time than the average period in the market because Al-Futtaim Group provides opportunities for career growth."
In addition, the new IKEA outlet will have a café and bakery for the first time. And in line with Dubai's policy to be the best, IKEA's navigation tower is also the tallest in the world.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com