On 1 May, IKEA opens a city centre store for Londoners and international tourists alike, on the popular Oxford Street. The 5,800 sqm store spans three floors in a former Topshop.
60,000 shoppers a week
The new Ikea city store opens with eighteen months’ delay: it took the Swedish furniture chain three years to convert the former Topshop store into a latest-generation home furnishing shop. Shoppers will find around 6,000 products in the shop, 3,500 of which can be taken away immediately – these are smaller furniture and home accessories.
The retailer expects to welcome around 60,000 shoppers a week here and aims to offer visitors a distinctive shopping experience at this location. “With this store, we really want to try and attract new customers to Ikea and get them excited around the brand again”, store manager Matt Gould said.
Diverse audience
This translates into an exclusive range of take-home items for tourists, such as water bottles and bucket hats with the Ikea brand on them. The interior presentations respond to London’s smaller living spaces and highly diverse audience. On screens, Londoners talk about their home furnishing choices.
The retailer deploys scent marketing in several places, with, for example, baking scents in the kitchen department. In a Re-Shop & Re-Use department, customers can buy second-hand products. The Swedish deli has 130 seats. Also special is a 25 sqm Live Studio for interactive events.
