“IKEA will market our MSMEs in the store. They have prepared the space," West Bandung Regent AA Umbara Sutisna said on Wednesday.

"We will follow IKEA’s method [in selling MSME products]; we are gathering MSMEs owners, especially those whose [products] don't sell so well. They can sell their products there [in IKEA]," he added as quoted by kompas.com.

Diva Yohana, IKEA Bandung store manager, said the store was eyeing 300 workers from three villages in West Bandung. 

“We will recruit around 300 employees at IKEA Kota Baru Parahyangan. Basically, [candidates] should have experience in retail and at warehouses,” she said.

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Aa Umbara said he would prioritize residents from three villages in the regency to work at the IKEA store, which will start operating in mid-2021, namely Kertajaya, Cipendeuy and Cimerang villages.

In addition to opening the store, the company also donated 500 staple food packages for people in Bandung whose livelihoods had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The social assistance will be distributed to those who need it in West Bandung," the regent said, noting that there had been no social aid distribution in the regency for almost a month.

IKEA Indonesia, which is a subsidiary of publicly-listed retail company Hero Supermarket, currently operates stores in Alam Sutera, Tangerang, Banten and Sentul City, Bogor, West Java. (ggq)