An IKEA branch along Alexandra Road in Singapore. Karen Flores, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Armed with the pulse of the local market, furniture makers said they could compete against Swedish giant IKEA once it enters the Philippines.

IKEA, known for its assemble-yourself cabinets, chairs and tables, is reported planning its first Philippine store, sparking excited reactions on social media last year.

"We know our customers better than IKEA. To us, every customer has a name while to IKEA, you're just a number," Blims Lifestyle Group chairman Samie Lim told ABS-CBN News.

Lim said some 20 to 30 percent of furniture retailers could close if IKEA gets a foothold in the Philippines.

"Those who have prepared for them will survive," said Lim, who is also chairman emeritus of the Philippine Retailers Association.

In developed markets, IKEA is positioned as a low-priced mass-market brand, but in emerging markets where low prices are the norm, it targets a growing middle class that aspires to international lifestyle products. -- with Reuters