UK Edition
Ikea to open first UK mini-store after buying Hammersmith shopping centre for £170m
Ikea is planning to open a flagship small store in a west London shopping centre as it seeks to conquer the high street.
The Swedish retailer - known for its out-of-town megastores - will stock about 2,000 cushions, storage boxes and picture frames at the site in Kings Mall, Hammersmith as part of a new foray into convenience in the UK.
Although Ikea already has two "planning studios" in central locations in the capital, shoppers can only place orders for big-ticket items such as kitchens. The new store will allow customers to leave with purchases from a small shop for the first time.
It is due to open early next year, at a time when a string of high profile names have either collapsed or have been forced to retreat from city centres as traditional stores reel from the switch to online shopping.
Peter Jelkeby of Ikea UK said the move was in response to changing shopping habits. He said: "People have been eager to see our affordable range on the high street for some time."
Ingka Centres, the property division of Ikea's parent company, has bought the Kings Mall shopping centre and plans a £170m revamp that could include housing, offices or entertainment provision. Existing tenants include H&M, Primark and Sainsbury's, while a Lidl store will open in the mall in the summer.
The acquisition is the first in Ikea's drive to develop mixed-use sites around new inner-city stores, Gerard Groener, managing director of Ingka Centres, told the Financial Times.
Ikea has opened a handful of city centre stores in European capitals including Paris and Moscow.
Other retailers, such as outdoors clothing brand Mountain Warehouse, have already taken advantage of the raft of store closures over the past few years. It has eight former Woolworths stores and “six or seven” New Look sites.
Retail sales fell for the first time in 25 years in 2019, the British Retail Consortium said on Thursday. Total sales dropped 0.1pc, the first annual decline since 1995. Sales in November and December were particularly weak, falling 0.9pc.
The likes of LK Bennet, Debenhams, Karen Millen, Forever 21, Bonmarché and Mothercare all fell victim to the tough conditions in the sector last year as higher business rates, day-to-day costs and increased competition from online rivals took their toll.