Swedish retail giant Ingka Group, owner of IKEA, has sold its final asset in Russia—a distribution warehouse in Esipovo, near Moscow.
This sale marks Ingka's complete exit from the Russian market, according to commercial real estate sources cited by RBC-Russia and representatives of the buyer, Russian businessman Robert Uzilov.
The warehouse, a 180,000-square-meter facility, was opened by IKEA in 2003 and served as a vital distribution hub for all IKEA stores in Russia.
Described by former Ingka Russia CEO Patrick Anthony in 2019 as “key to IKEA’s development in Russia,” the center played a central role in the company’s local logistics.
In March 2022, amid the war in Ukraine, Ingka Group suspended all retail operations in Russia and Belarus and halted production at its local factories. Over the following year, the company gradually sold off its main Russian assets.
Russian companies Luzales and Slotex acquired IKEA's factories, Gazprombank took over 14 Mega shopping centers, and KLS-Khimki bought IKEA’s headquarters in Khimki Business Park.
The Esipovo warehouse has not been in use since IKEA ceased operations. It’s unclear who will occupy it after the sale, but the deal received approval from the Russian government’s Foreign Investment Commission, led by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
The transaction was conducted under Russia’s guidelines, which include a discount and a mandatory budget contribution.