Before 2004, for many Portuguese, shopping at IKEA meant a trip to Spain. In 2002, the Correio da Manhã even described weekends and holidays as “days of veritable pilgrimages” to the brand’s stores across the border. The first Portuguese store opened in 2004 in Alfragide, Amadora, and today IKEA stores in the country attract 15.3 million visits per year.
An opening that was a long time coming
In 2002, the brand expected to open in Alfragide by the end of 2003 and anticipated exceeding one million visitors in the first year. The schedule slipped: in February 2004, Público reported that IKEA had delayed construction on the access roads and postponed the grand opening.
In April, Jornal de Negócios reported an investment of 60 million euros and 420 jobs, 120 of which were still to be filled. The store would cover 33,000 square meters, with 19,300 square meters of retail space spread over two floors, according to Portugal Têxtil.
22 years later
Alfragide was just the beginning. It was followed by Matosinhos (2007), Loures (2010), Braga (2016), and Loulé (2017), and on July 30 of this year, a pilot store in Coimbra, smaller than the others.
In the last fiscal year, between September 2024 and August 2025, IKEA Portugal generated 611.4 million euros in sales, according to Jornal de Negócios. The stores received 15.3 million visits and the website 64.7 million, and the company employs about 3,200 people, according to IKEA itself.
The Alfragide store has also evolved over time: in 2014, it renovated 5,000 square meters of showroom space, representing an investment of two million euros.
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