Content area
Full Text
Ikea China country manager Gillian Drakeford has been appointed to head up the retailer in the UK and Ireland. Retail Week takes a look at the Ikea lifer.
When Gillian Drakeford steps into Ikea's Wembley headquarters tomorrow (Thursday August 1) to take up the helm as country manager for the UK and Ireland, it will mark a return to working full time on British soil for Drakeford after a 10-year stint heading up the furniture giant in China.
Drakeford will lead a retailer in a country miles apart - in every sense - to the UK. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last year, Drakeford said the majority of Ikea's shoppers visit the furniture giant by public transport while the average family live in a space of between 753 sq ft and 969 sq ft, mostly in a high-rise block.
China's a retail market Drakeford has known for the past decade and one she has headed...