Dragan Skalušević, Director of "Ikea" in Serbia – We are thinking about opening the factory

- If everything goes as planned, the citizens of Serbia will be able to buy furniture in department stores “Ikea” starting from the end of year 2011 - Dragan Skalušević, the Director of "Ikea" in Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia, told “Blic”. This Swedish brand became famous all over the world as the furniture trademark intended for young couples.

What are the development plans of "Ikea" in Serbia?

- Opening of department stores and trade centers, and growth of production through network of suppliers.

So, you plan to organize production of furniture in Serbia?

- That is in the pipeline, and we started working on that three or four years ago by increasing production of furniture in association with the manufacturers in Serbia. The second possibility is the construction of factory, which would be the second direct investment of company "Ikea" in Serbia.

- At the moment, the manufacturers in Serbia are sending furniture to department stores "Ikea" all over the world, and since we don’t have a department store in Serbia, that means that the whole production is intended for export. The volume of production is small at this moment and our aim is to increase it in the next few years.

Why have you decided for Serbia at the moment when consumption is dropping all over the world because of the crisis?

- Not only Serbia, but Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The decision about investment in these three countries was made in 2007 and, so far, we have not given up any investments in spite of the crisis.

How much "Ikea" plans to invest in Serbia?

- The investment will depend on the size of the facility, but it will amount to about 300m EUR. Department store "Ikea" will offer about 250 jobs, while about 1,500 jobs will be offered by trade centers.