Ikea's Delayed Oxford Street Store Finally Opens
After significant delays, Ikea has opened its new store on Oxford Street in central London. The location is expected to offer a different retail experience compared to the company's traditional large-format suburban stores.
- The store is located at 214 Oxford Street in the Grade II listed building that formerly housed Topshop's flagship store. Ingka Investments, IKEA's parent company, purchased the building in 2022 for £378 million. - The opening was pushed back from the initial autumn 2023 date due to a meticulous three-year renovation. This included a significant environmental upgrade with new insulation, the replacement of gas-fired boilers with air-source heat pumps, and addressing water ingress in the basement. - Spanning three floors and 5,800 square meters of retail space, the store will showcase around 6,000 product lines. Of these, approximately 3,500 smaller home furnishing accessories will be available to purchase and take away immediately. - Larger furniture items will be on display but can be ordered for home delivery or collection from a network of pick-up points. The store will also feature a planning studio for customers to get design consultations. - In a departure from its traditional warehouse model, this city-centre store will feature room sets and "culture clusters" co-created with London residents to reflect the realities of urban living in smaller spaces. - The location will also include a 130-seater Swedish Deli serving classic IKEA dishes like meatballs and hot dogs. - The new store has created 150 jobs, for which IKEA received a record 3,730 applications within just five days of posting the openings. - Beyond the IKEA store, the seven-story building will also house four floors of office space and three other retail outlets, including a Space NK.
