Ikea takes cautious approach in China

“We saw in Russia that things can go wrong when you go too fast. We want to secure the competence and the Ikea culture in markets before building too many stores,” Mikael Ohlsson, chief executive, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

In Russia, Ikea fired two senior executives last year for ignoring bribery by a subcontractor.

In China, it has eight stores in six cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. Ohlsson said he plans to expand in the country with just one or two new stores a year, to make the expansion go more smoothly.