First look inside IKEA Oxford Street store with section you've never seen before
IKEA is opening its brand new Oxford Street store in London tomorrow, and it has revealed some exciting additions that customers will have never seen before.
The long-awaited store will pull up the shutters for customers in the capital at 10am on May 1, following an extensive renovation of the former TopShop site. Going forward, it will be open from 10am until 8pm every day.
IKEA first hinted in 2015 that it was looking to take over the Grade II-listed building on 214 Oxford Street. It later bought the site in 2021. With the store finally opening, customers will see the site span three floors of the seven-storey building, comprising the ground and two lower ground floors, with a retail space of 5,800 square metres.
The new site will offer the traditional IKEA experience that we Brits all know and love, with three floors of showrooms and a market space stocking more than 3,500 items of bargain homeware. Keeping up with tradition, the new Oxford Street store will have a 130-seater Swedish deli serving classic IKEA dishes including its 85p hotdogs and its beloved meatballs and plantballs, with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and cream sauce.
In a global first for IKEA, the Oxford Street store will feature a 25 square metre Live Studio with broadcasting capabilities. The Swedish homeware retailer says the space will enable IKEA to feature and host interactive experiences and exhibitions for "locally relevant events".
The new store will also have a Re-Shop and Re-Use section, where customers can shop for second-hand, second-life, and discontinued IKEA products.
Alongside this, the ground floor will feature three "Curated Shops" shopping edits created by Londoners that "reflect and celebrate the character and diversity of the city's residents". IKEA says it will invite new Londoners to curate their own product selection multiple times a year.
The opening marks a major milestone in IKEA's plans to increase its presence in city centres and expand with smaller stores across the UK. As mentioned earlier, the opening of this site is the definition of long-awaited.
Renovation work on the site started in 2022, initially aiming to welcome customers by autumn 2023. However, last year, IKEA announced a delay, moving the expected opening to autumn 2024, and finally spring 2025 because of the extensive refurbishment requirements.
Confirming the exact opening date in March this year, IKEA said it had been inundated with job applications, having received 3,730 in just six days for the Oxford Street store – more than ten times the 150 available positions.
Peter Jelkeby, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA UK, said: 'Tomorrow, we will celebrate our new home on Oxford Street, a milestone in our journey to becoming more accessible.
"It will be an IKEA many know and love, with some new features exclusive to this iconic city centre store. Created in collaboration with real voices and with Londoners in mind, opening our doors is a landmark moment following a meticulous renovation and we are truly excited to share it.'
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the new flagship store on Oxford Street was a "huge vote of confidence" in London, its economy, and its plans to rejuvenate Oxford Street. He said: "Oxford Street is one of the most famous shopping destinations in the world and we want to give it a new lease of life.
"This involves attracting brilliant companies like IKEA, which will help to create new jobs and increase footfall. We have developed bold proposals to pedestrianise Oxford Street and to establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events. The consultation on these plans closes on May, 2 so I encourage everyone to have their say.'
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