Swedish retail giant Ikea has announced plans to double its presence in Australia and reduce prices on 900 products, some by up to 50 percent.
The news comes after ACA revealed that Australian shoppers pay up to three times more for some products than Ikea customers in Europe and the United States.
An ACA report from late last year showed that a rattan chair that retailed in Australia for $249 only cost $119 in the US.
This was only one of a number of items that had been marked up considerably for the Australian market.
Ikea claimed that prices here are often higher due to Australia's distance from production centres but ACA has questioned whether this can justify price increases of over 200 percent.
Ikea Australia managing director David Hood said the cost of doing business in Australia was also very high, saying it was right "right up there with the Japans of this world".
"It's more costly to employ people in Australia," he said.
Last year Ikea slashed prices on 2500 of its products.
As part of Ikea's plan to increase its number of Australian outlets the firm has purchased land north of Melbourne and in north-west Sydney, to help lift the number of its stores to 11.
Ikea plans to have four Sydney stores, four in Melbourne and three in Brisbane.
Canberra and the NSW central coast have also been slated as potential sites for new outlets.
