We are closing off our live coverage of the opening of Ikea's first store in New Zealand. Stay with us as we bring you the latest news from NZ and around the world on nzherald.co.nz.

CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of Ikea Australia and New Zealand Mirja Viinanen said she's proud Ikea are open in-store and online in Aotearoa and the company appreciates the excitement shown by those who queued up to visit for the first time.

“It’s been some time since we first announced our intentions to enter New Zealand in 2019.

"Right from the start, we wanted to enter in the best way possible and be a good neighbour.

"We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support and collaboration from our neighbours and wider ‘Ikea Family’ community.”

Retail Manager for Ingka Group Ikea Tolga Öncü said the distance between New Zealand and Sweden makes the opening of the new store special.

"It’s a real leap of faith, investment and friendship," Öncü said, "showing we’re not just exporting a store, we’re planting roots for the long term, creating jobs, learning from local communities and tailoring our offer for Kiwi homes.

"With the Auckland store becoming store number 505 worldwide and New Zealand the 64th Ikea market, this is a milestone for both Ikea and Aotearoa, and we cannot wait to begin this new chapter.”

Ikea New Zealand Market Manager Johanna Cederlöf said it has been her dream to open a store in New Zealand and today that dream has come true.

"We have been blown away by the excitement and passion of Kiwis who queued up for a chance to shop with us."

Cederlöf said the ambition for the Sylvia Park store is for it to become a second home for Aucklanders, "a place for children to play, families and friends to enjoy a meal together and for the community to gather.”

Luxon said going forward the process of bringing foreign investment in to the country needs to be quicker.

"We have changed some of our laws to encourage more investment from overseas, particularly in the supermarket sector.

"We also put in place fast track to get through the resource planning and consenting process. This has been a long time coming, getting to this point.

"I think going forward it needs to be much quicker, much faster to be able to get the investments landed in country.

"It's been really exciting to see Costco off the back of that legislation change and those law changes actually commit to a second store in South Auckland and Drury, so that's what I've said to the CEO of Ikea as well, is that we want to make it easier for the second store like Costco and supporting local businesses."

The Prime Minister said this is a good news story that is creating hundreds of local jobs.

Luxon also argued the Government is helping small businesses as well.

"Think about our investment boost program where you can write off 20% of our capital investment, there's been a lot of effort around making sure that we get rid of the red tape so small businesses can crack on and do what they need to do.

"They should just step up and compete, and I know they will and I know there's a lot of retailers that are actually welcoming the competition.

"It'll make them better and it'll actually be a good thing for New Zealanders."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said the opening of Ikea is great for competition in New Zealand.

"This is great for competition, this is really great for consumers across New Zealand and actually, you've seen other retailers welcome the move as well.

"And what it's all about is making sure that we have more competition so New Zealanders get better deals and their money goes further, and that's what this is about."