IKEA UK & Ireland promotes Javier Quiñones to country retail manager role
IKEA UK and Ireland has promoted Javier Quiñones to the position of country retail manager.
Having been deputy retail manager for the UK and Ireland since 2014, Quiñones will succeed Gillian Drakeford who will become IKEA retail system manager at Inter IKEA Systems, the owner of the IKEA concept and worldwide franchiser.
After initially joining IKEA Spain in 1997 as a part time team member in the self-serve department, Quiñones progressed to roles such as sales manager and store manager before taking up his UK role.
In his current position, he has been credited with helping to drive the success of the UK and Ireland business through his work covering sales, property, marketing, expansion, logistics and interior design. He will take up his new position on 1 June.
Quiñones said: “Having already spent 20 fantastic years at IKEA, I’m excited to take my next step as country retail manager for IKEA UK and Ireland. I’m passionate about understanding how our customers live and want to use my role to improve life at home for people across the UK and Ireland.
“There’s a huge amount of innovation and transformation in the retail industry, from experimenting with in-store experience to merging digital and physical retail. I’m looking forward to ensuring IKEA leads the way, and continuing the journey we’ve been on to date, building on Gillian’s legacy.”
IKEA UK and Ireland achieved its sixth consecutive year of growth last year and opened new stores in Reading and Sheffield. It also launched a new store in Exeter last week.
Drakeford added: “Leading the UK and Ireland has been a great privilege and together we have had five exceptional years of growth becoming more accessible to people through the opening of three new stores and the development of new store formats, as well as strengthening our online offer. Javier’s role has been integral to these achievements and his life at home expertise and passion for the brand make him well-equipped to take on the role of country retail manager.”
