IKEA to open new small format store at London Westfield Stratford City
Home furnishing retailer IKEA has chosen the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre as the location for its first new format smaller store in London.
The new “Order and Collection Point” will also be the company’s first unit to open inside a UK shopping centre.
Expected to launch in summer 2016, the Westfield Stratford store has been designed to make shopping easier and more convenient for customers, especially those who live a long way from an IKEA store.
Acting primarily as a planning studio to plan and order more complex purchases such as kitchens, wardrobes and sofas, the store will also feature IKEA room sets providing inspiration and ideas for the home and expert staff offering home furnishing knowledge and advice.
IKEA Order and Collection development manager Jack Jackson said: “We are really excited to be bringing this new IKEA format to Westfield Stratford City in London. It is our first Order and Collection Point in London as well as in a major shopping centre location in the UK and this marks an important milestone in making our products and services available to more customers.
“We recognize that customers today want to shop with us in different ways and our Order and Collections Points are developed to offer a new way for people to interact with us.”
The new store will be connected to the shopping centre’s car park to make it easier for customers to collect ordered products by car. It will not carry the full product range to take home but customers will be able to order from the full range for home delivery or for collection at the collection point. In addition, a small range of the retailer’s ‘markethall’ items will be available for customers to take home on the day of their visit.
IKEA is testing a number of similar Order and Collection Points across the UK. The first outlet opened in Norwich in November last year while a second will open in Aberdeen on 12 May. A third unit is planned for Birmingham City Centre later this summer.
