This article has been republished with the permission of Furniture Today USA.

Words: Clint Engel

Ikea is leasing more than 1.6 million square feet in additional warehouse space to boost its e-commerce and large item delivery capabilities in the United States, and it hinted more will be coming.

The Top 100 company has leased 1 million square feet in two buildings in Baytown, Texas’ Cedar Port Industrial Park, 30 miles east of downtown Houston, and 646,000 square feet in Napa Logistics Park in American Canyon, Calif. The latter facility, 34 miles north of the Port of Oakland, will be operational early next year, the company said, while the Baytown facilities were up and running earlier this year.

The company said both fulfilment centers will focus on delivering items to customers who order products online or purchase large items, such as the larger pieces of furniture, at its store. Each center will create about 200 jobs.

“As we expand across the country and grow our online presence, we want to ensure we have sufficient warehouse capacity to support the efficient and timely delivery and shipment of product to our customers,” Ikea U.S. President Lars Petersson said in a release. “Our goal is to increase accessibility to the Ikea product selection, and these two fulfilment centers will help us meet the home furnishing needs of many American customers.”

The company currently has a network of five regional distribution centers (and another under construction) supporting its 45 U.S. stores and handling online fulfilment. While the retailer traditionally transports goods globally to stores from regional distribution centers, the new facilities “and others in the future will augment the current U.S. distribution strategy,” it said, enhancing its product availability to customers shopping in-store or online.