Brace yourself. IKEA just opened its second largest store in the world, next to its flagship store in Stockholm. This one is in Beijing — a seven-story, $100 million showplace with a restaurant that can seat 700, a lobby that’s three stories high, plus showrooms that are 500 yards long, encompassing 77 living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.
Naturally, IKEA is looking to grow its sales with China’s rapid growing home improvement market, with millions of families buying stuff for their homes in a market estimated at $15 to $40 billion this year. IKEA plans to build 10 more stores in China within five years.