Ikea today says it will invest £1bn in London over the next three years as part of its long-term aim of becoming more convenient and accessible for its customers – both online and in-store.
The investment, announced as Ikea opens its first small format store within a new Ingka Centres shopping mall in Hammersmith, West London, today, will focus on developing new and existing ways to shop and to socialise. They include city centre stores, such as that opening today, and new fulfilment and delivery capabilities.
Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer at IKEA UK & Ireland, says: “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 ecommerce, 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.”
The new Hammersmith Ikea store (pictured) is its first cashless store in the UK, with only self-serve checkouts available to buy the 1,800 products available to buy to take away, and a further 4,000 able to be ordered for delivery.
The store, which also features in-store planning services for kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, is designed to be easily navigated by busy commuters – with three entrances and exits. It is situated within the new Livat Hammersmith, redeveloped by Ingka Centres – the store arm of Ikea Group – which bought the former Kings Mall in 2019.
Cindy Andersen, managing director of Ingka Centres, says: “Today’s official opening of Livat Hammersmith is an exciting step on our journey in shaping next-generation meeting places that go far beyond shopping. We know that our visitors and the wider community want more spaces in which to meet, shop, live and work, which are fun, human and enable more sustainable living.
“Livat Hammersmith will offer just that. This new vibrant offer, designed to reflect modern inner city lifestyles with more regular visits and fewer journeys by car, provides a place where everyone feels welcome and is encouraged to come more often to explore amazing experiences while supporting the local community and the planet.”
Rethinking stores – and collection
Ikea will open its Oxford Street flagship store in Autumn 2023, and says that stores will continue to be an important part of its business model – both as places to browse and as fulfilment centres for multichannel services including click and collect and click and deliver. Collect Near You lockers will also open for shoppers to collect furniture items, costing £10 for customers who live within a 45km radius of a locker, or free for orders over £200.
A new Dartford Customer Distribution Centre will open in December, increasing Ikea’s online distribution capacity by 20%, and enabling 24 hour deliveries. The centre will also mean, says Ikea, that 60% of deliveries into London will be zero emission from day one. That will count towards Ikea UK’s goal of 100% zero emission home deliveries by 2025.
Jelkeby says: “Whilst London is the initial focus of our city-centre approach, our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. 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.”
Ikea is a Top250 retailer in RXUK Top500 research.
