IKEA Penang opening in 9 months time. New catalyst?

Let’s answer this question at the end yeah. “With IKEA coming, should I buy a property nearby?” For now, let’s just celebrate this piece of news. IKEA Penang is recruiting and they need 200 new positions at its Batu Kawan Penang store. For those who do not know who is IKEA, it’s my favourite store. Earlier article here: IKEA was packed to the brim, still. They hail from Sweden and loved by many cafes too, not just residential home owners. The available jobs in their IKEA Batu Kawan store? Full-time and part-time vacancies, including roles in sales, customer relations, food and beverage, logistics and warehouse. In a statement today, IKEA said a walk-in interview session will be carried out from July 27 to 29 at The Light Hotel in Seberang Jaya, Penang from 9am. Full article in TheEdgeMarkets here.

IKEA Batu Kawan store manager Pathmalingam Arumugam.added, “Following the recruitment drive, successful candidates will undergo training ahead of the opening of IKEA Batu Kawan. The long lead-time ensures the team is well prepared to provide customers a consistent IKEA shopping experience. We are ready to bring on board fans and individuals with a passion for home furnishing to join the foremost team for IKEA Batu Kawan. We provide co-workers a fun and family-like environment to bring the same experience and sense of belonging for customers who visit our store.” Beyond these, IKEA will also provide benefits such as medical benefits, a 15% co-worker discount for all IKEA products, subsidised meals at co-worker restaurant and seasonal gifts. There’s more. “In addition, co-workers are entitled to four consecutive months of maternity leave, as well as four weeks of paid time-off for new dads — a new policy that was introduced last year in the spirit of equality and inclusiveness.” (Beyond just 4 months maternity leave for mothers, FATHERS can have 4 weeks off!) Full article in TheEdgeMarkets here.

Okay, now to answer that question of whether one should buy a property nearby. IKEA Batu Kawan should be popular, that’s for sure. However, one does NOT need to stay nearby to go to the store because they do not need to go to the store everyday. Secondly, these visitors, even from out of town may not prefer to stay in Batu Kawan area because Penang island has lots more to offer, at this moment. Third, IKEA’s total staffs are not mostly expats. Thus, the sudden surge in demand for high-end homes will not be there. Of course, there will be more demand for homes since they would have slots for 200 workers. Is Batu Kawan a promising place to stay? This is a decision that one must make for themselves yeah. Drive around, understand what’s available and what’s coming up. Include IKEA into the equation as a plus point. It should not be the MAJOR point yeah. Happy visiting IKEA first.

written on 18 July 2018

Next suggested article: Renovation gets higher returns?

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply