September 25 (SeeNews) - Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA will open its first store in Slovenia, in the capital Ljubljana, in the beginning of 2021, and not at the end of 2020 as previously expected, local media reported on Friday.
The retailer still does not have an exact date for the opening, but expects that it will take place in the first months of next year, state news agency STA reported, citing company information.
Earlier this month, STA reported that the company is seeking to hire more than 300 workers for the Ljubljana store.
IKEA laid the foundation stone of its first store in Slovenia in October 2019. The investment project is worth an estimated 90 million euro ($105 million), with the new store spreading on an area of 30,000 square metres.
IKEA announced it would enter the Slovenian market six years ago but the project had been delayed due to complications with the land purchase and the issuance of building permits.
Slovenia's environment ministry eventually issued a building permit for the Ljubljana store in August 2019. Prior to this, in February 2019, the Ljubljana City Council dropped a requirement that IKEA should build a roundabout at the southern access to Ljubljana's BTC shopping district, where the store will be located, in order for the company to obtain the building permit for the project.
($ = 0.8601 euro)