Region. IKEA looks to Western Sydney

IKEA, which opens the biggest in the southern hemisphere, at Tempe, on November 3, is investigating sites in Sydney's west and north-west regions.

Rhodes. Ikea operating at capacity

David Hood, MD, of Ikea Australia, said its Tempe outlet would cannibalise some sales of the store in Homebush Bay Drive, Rhodes, a welcome outcome as it was operating at capacity already. “There comes a point when you can’t physically do any more from a store,” he said. The Tempe outlet will be the largest Ikea store in Australia, featuring a total gross area of 39,000 square metres almost double the size of the Swedish company's most recently built store at Rhodes. The store is scheduled to open in late 2011 and will create between 400 and 500 new jobs. The Tempe store is a cornerstone of Ikea’s longer-term national expansion plans which could include two more Sydney stores.