A study conducted in Vilnius compared Tallinn, Tartu and Riga for the suitability of Ikea expansion, concluding with a win for the Latvian capital.

The Swedish furniture chain announced that it will expand to the next Baltic nation in the next two and a half years time, and is planning stores in all Baltic nations by 2019, Postimees reported.

Ikea's first store in the region opened little over a year ago in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

The cost of the next store is estimated at around 150 million dollars (120 million euros). Tallinn and Tartu were considered and dropped as the possible locations for the first opening, due to strong competition and high costs in Tallinn, and small population in Tartu.

However, Tartu may have better prospects for the selection in future, because the relatively low cost of living.