IKEA to inject £1bn into London over the next three years
IKEA is set to inject £1bn into London over the next three years, as it opens the doors to its first small store in Hammersmith.
The Swedish furniture retailer, known for its large warehouse stores, is looking to branch out into city centres with a smaller, more accessible offering.
The West London store, a quarter of the size of a traditional store, will have around 1,800 products available and 4,000 on display, with the full range available for delivery – as well as a new Swedish deli.
The new store will also be IKEA’s first cashless store in the UK, hopping onto the trend the Amazon-inspired trend in the capital.
“Whilst London is the initial focus of our city-centre approach, our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people,” said country retail manager and chief sustainability officer, Peter Jelkeby.
“All of our efforts centre on creating happy customers, and we will learn from our London approach, whilst continuing to develop plans for other city centre locations as well as the wider UK and Ireland, to bring our offer even closer.”
The Hammersmith site will set the tone for IKEA’s new offering in the capital, as it readies to open its Oxford Street store, as well as a second small UK store, in autumn next year.
Jelkby added: “Everything we do starts with our customers. Over the next three years, we will continue to transform as we respond to their needs and dreams, today and tomorrow.
“As one of the most innovative and exciting markets in the world for retail and e-commerce, we will step up our omnichannel investments in London with a simple goal: to become more customer centric, so that people can shop with us for a better, more sustainable life at home, whenever, wherever and however they choose.”