NewsWhore
02-18-2010, 06:50 PM
President Leonel Fernandez attended the formal opening of the Ikea department store at John F. Kennedy Avenue in Santo Domingo yesterday.
In keeping with Swedish custom, the President cut a birch tree trunk instead of the traditional ribbon.
The new store is located across from Americana Departamentos, and a block from the Diamond Mall.
The international home products retailer is the first to sell flat-pack furniture to the Dominican market, but transportation and assembly services are also offered for additional costs. Home accessories and bathroom and kitchen items are also available at the Santo Domingo store.
The store area covers 35,000 square meters, plus a 6,300 square meter warehouse. The restaurant can seat 650 people, and there is parking for 1,600 vehicles.
President Fernandez said that the inauguration of the new store is an example of the confidence that foreign investors have shown in the advantages of the DR and the guarantees for their investment. The world's largest furniture retailer announced that the store, built with an investment of US$85 million, was its first in Latin America.
"Today is a day of great rejoicing," said Fernandez. He pointed out that the opening of Ikea was a great event from the economic and commercial point of view. He said it was evidence of the reactivation of the Dominican economy and that the opening comes at a good time to create new jobs, increase demand and stimulate the economy. Fernandez admitted to having been an unofficial construction supervisor, because every time he drove by he would observe its progress.
"The fact that a store of this size, 70,000m2, went up at a time of world crisis, when there was so much uncertainty, even paralysis at the global level, for it to come to Santo Domingo, to the Dominican Republic, the fact that it believes in our future, that it bet on it, is definitely worthy of our recognition," said the President, as reported in Listin Diario.
He said this means the DR was a good market for furniture and other products that Ikea sells and also that the middle class in the DR is willing to purchase these goods.
He said that Ikea has paid a great honor to the DR as it has 305 stores in 38 countries, and chose the DR to be its first in Latin America.
Roberto Modesto of the local building company that succeeded in completing the construction in a 10-month period, presented Alm with a gift of a painting by Guillo Perez at the ceremony.
Speaking at the opening, Anders Alm, Ikea director for the Dominican Republic and the Canary Islands, said that of the 600 employees, 599 are Dominican. Store general manager Marita Marante is the only foreigner. Alm said their plan was to live up to their motto: "To create a better everyday life for all."
Anders Alm told Hoy that the idea to build an Ikea came up during a business breakfast the President Leonel Fernandez attended during a visit to Madrid, Spain.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
In keeping with Swedish custom, the President cut a birch tree trunk instead of the traditional ribbon.
The new store is located across from Americana Departamentos, and a block from the Diamond Mall.
The international home products retailer is the first to sell flat-pack furniture to the Dominican market, but transportation and assembly services are also offered for additional costs. Home accessories and bathroom and kitchen items are also available at the Santo Domingo store.
The store area covers 35,000 square meters, plus a 6,300 square meter warehouse. The restaurant can seat 650 people, and there is parking for 1,600 vehicles.
President Fernandez said that the inauguration of the new store is an example of the confidence that foreign investors have shown in the advantages of the DR and the guarantees for their investment. The world's largest furniture retailer announced that the store, built with an investment of US$85 million, was its first in Latin America.
"Today is a day of great rejoicing," said Fernandez. He pointed out that the opening of Ikea was a great event from the economic and commercial point of view. He said it was evidence of the reactivation of the Dominican economy and that the opening comes at a good time to create new jobs, increase demand and stimulate the economy. Fernandez admitted to having been an unofficial construction supervisor, because every time he drove by he would observe its progress.
"The fact that a store of this size, 70,000m2, went up at a time of world crisis, when there was so much uncertainty, even paralysis at the global level, for it to come to Santo Domingo, to the Dominican Republic, the fact that it believes in our future, that it bet on it, is definitely worthy of our recognition," said the President, as reported in Listin Diario.
He said this means the DR was a good market for furniture and other products that Ikea sells and also that the middle class in the DR is willing to purchase these goods.
He said that Ikea has paid a great honor to the DR as it has 305 stores in 38 countries, and chose the DR to be its first in Latin America.
Roberto Modesto of the local building company that succeeded in completing the construction in a 10-month period, presented Alm with a gift of a painting by Guillo Perez at the ceremony.
Speaking at the opening, Anders Alm, Ikea director for the Dominican Republic and the Canary Islands, said that of the 600 employees, 599 are Dominican. Store general manager Marita Marante is the only foreigner. Alm said their plan was to live up to their motto: "To create a better everyday life for all."
Anders Alm told Hoy that the idea to build an Ikea came up during a business breakfast the President Leonel Fernandez attended during a visit to Madrid, Spain.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)