IKEA's formal announcement of its move into the national capital on Thursday was accentuated by just enough props to please a fan of the company's wares.

But for outgoing Swedish ambassador Sven-Olof Petersson, it symbolised something more than a business push. He viewed it as a further diplomatic push into the capital by one of the first nations to build an embassy here.

"Sweden has lots of successful companies – mining companies, car and truck makers, telephone companies – but when they come to a place like Australia, they want the image of being Australian,'' Mr Petersson said. "Not so IKEA. It's still a very Swedish company.

"IKEA is soft power. It's Swedish design, a Swedish way of thinking: pragmatic, easygoing, laid-back, egalitarian like Australia. It's very much soft power for Sweden and that's why it's fascinating to be here as an ambassador."

Mr Petersson believed the store would succeed in Canberra largely because of the relatively high incomes and transient nature of the population. And he tipped the diplomats of Yarralumla and O'Malley to be among its best customers.

"Public servants are fairly well-paid here and there's also quite a high turnover, so they need good furniture that's not too expensive and you can leave or sell to someone if you want, instead of big, heavy furniture that you have to take everywhere you go," he said.

"And for embassies, you used to have them furnished for you, but now you have to bring your own things and that's terribly expensive from a long way away like Sweden. To be able to buy good-priced IKEA furniture that you can leave behind when you move on is perfect.''

Mr Petersson and his wife Anita will not be around to see IKEA's arrival, ending their six-year stint in Canberra when the ambassador retires soon.

But their successors in the Swedish embassy, built in 1947 and due for renovation, are certain to benefit. Mr Petersson expected the new kitchen and the offices to be almost exclusively fitted out from IKEA.