IKEA moves closer to opening a Philippine store

International furniture company IKEA is moving forward to expand in the Philippines and is seeking a lead player for the Manila Branch.

In a job posting on professional networking site LinkedIn, the company is looking for a design manager who will be one of those in charge of taking over operations of the Manila office.

“We want to fill this position with a strong and passionate experienced architect, who has a keen sense of commerciality and attention to details, capable of driving our ambitious projects by supporting the Property & Expansion team in the execution of the first IKEA Manila store, enabling to position IKEA as the leader in life at home in the Philippines,” the job pitch read.

“The role is based in Manila, Philippines,” it said.

The posting was actually published by IKEA Southeast Asia in January, with a deadline set on Feb. 28, 2018.

On Wednesday, GMA News Online has reached out to IKEA for more details about its plans in the Philippines, but the company has not replied as of this posting.

Emails were also sent to the Ikano Group—its reported partner in the Philippine operations—but the company was not immediately available for comment.

In 2016, the SM Group said it was in discussion with IKEA for a possible partnership deal and a store in the Philippines.

IKEA, which stands for Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, and Agunnaryd, is a furniture retailer and franchiser with 387 stores in 48 countries.

The acronym stands for the name of the company founder, the farm in which he was raised by his parents, and the village where he grew up. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News