Ingka Centres sold its 14 centres to a subsidiary of the Gazprombank Group. After the divestment of the shopping centres, Ingka Centres will have no operational business in Russia
New Delhi: The Ingka Group has decided to sell its Russian portfolio of shopping centres comprising 14 MEGA centres or meeting places—as the group calls it—to a subsidiary of the Gazprombank Group, as per an announcement by Ingka Centres.
Although Ingka Centres did not reveal details of the deal, Gazprombank said in a statement that it had purchased 2.3 million square metres of retail space from the company and would be developing the assets.
Ikea shuttered its 17 stores in Russia and Belarus in 2022 as a consequence of the war in the country, which impacted operations and disrupted its supply chain. It even sold its largest factory in the country in March.
After the divestment of the shopping centres Ingka Centres has no operational business in Russia.
“This week we, after 21 years of operation, sold our shopping centre business in Russia. 14 MEGA meeting places in 11 cities, from St Petersburg in the west to Novosibirsk in the east. A very emotional period as the teams in the Centres’s and the support functions have been loyal and passionate coworkers for so many years,” Patrik Antoni, General Manager Ingka Russia wrote on LinkedIn.
“For me, this means the end of the Russia story (for this time as I hope to be part of the startup of IKEA in Russia when times are better again) and I’m soon starting a new chapter of my IKEA/Ingka life,” he added.
Ingka Centres is part of the Ingka Group (which also includes IKEA Retail and Ingka Investments). Ingka Centres has 50 years of experience in shopping centres and works with over 3,000 brands across its portfolio of meeting places across the globe.
The company hosts and serves more than 370 million visitors each year at its Ikea-anchored meeting places.
In India, Ingka Centres has branded its India malls Lykli and the first centre is scheduled to open at Gurugram in 2025. Read more about it here.
