Latest news with #PlanandOrder
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IKEA launches small format store in Harlow, Essex
IKEA has inaugurated its first small format store in Harlow, Essex, as part of its ongoing expansion in the UK. The new location aims to provide a quicker and simpler shopping experience. The Harlow store features a compact layout that allows shoppers to view various room setups and purchase a selection of furnishings and smaller items for immediate use. It includes a curated showroom, seasonal product offerings and access to IKEA's extensive inventory, which can be delivered to customers' homes or picked up from the store with next-day collection at no additional cost. Other services available at the store include the option to trade in pre-owned items for store credit and assistance with planning kitchen and bedroom layouts, supported by a team of staff members. The store also offers a range of Swedish food options for customers to enjoy on-site or take away. The company plans two more small stores in Norwich and Chester in the second half of 2025. It is also set to launch additional Plan and Order Points in Dundee and York, and a new city store in Brighton. This follows the recent openings of IKEA Plan and Order Point Hull and a city centre store on Oxford Street in London in early 2025. IKEA UK and Ireland chief strategy officer and CEO Peter Jelkeby stated: 'The opening of IKEA Harlow marks an exciting milestone as we explore new ways to bring IKEA closer to our customers. We are opening our doors just over 100 days after acquiring the lease to the site, having made use of the existing structure to get our store ready at pace. 'By continuously reviewing and adapting our store formats, we aim to offer a more personalised and accessible retail experience. These new small-format stores fit seamlessly into our wider omnichannel strategy, ensuring our physical and digital channels work together to meet the diverse needs of our customers. 'We're thrilled that customers in the Harlow area can now conveniently drop into our retail park store – whether they're looking for home furnishing inspiration, expert planning services, or our iconic meatballs – and we look forward to bringing this new offering to Norwich and Chester very soon.' "IKEA launches small format store in Harlow, Essex" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Scottish Sun
03-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
IKEA announces sudden closure of UK store that opened just two years ago after customer backlash
One unhappy customer described the outlet as being 'pointless' PACKING UP IKEA announces sudden closure of UK store that opened just two years ago after customer backlash Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IKEA has announced it is closing down a UK store it opened just two years ago following a backlash from customers. The famous Swedish homewares retailer has confirmed the Plan and Order point at the Stockport Merseyway Shopping Centre will cease in just a fortnight's time on June 16. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 IKEA is closing its Plan and Order outlet in Stockport (file photo) Credit: Getty The store in Greater Manchester is a smaller outlet than its usual out-of-town locations and is focused on kitchen, bedroom and living room planning. The aim was to provide somewhere for customers to go to get advice and expertise on home furnishing and somewhere where they could design their ideal fittings and get individual 3D interior plans from the interior designers. According to IKEA, the decision to close the store permanently was made due to 'a result of valuable learnings' where the company recognised their customers wanted a different retail experience, more along the lines of Click and Collect and return services. While the Stockport branch will close for good, other Plan and Order points, such as the ones in Dundee, York and Hull, will be adapted to meet those new demands and also include a small range of home furnishing accessories to buy. The current Stockport customers are now being directed to the next nearest main IKEA store, the branch in Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Locals can also now pick up their IKEA purchases from Tesco Extra in Stockport and the Tesco Extra in Stretford as part of Click and Collect. Salma Azad, IKEA area manager said: 'After careful evaluation, we've made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre. 'In the two years since opening, we've taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we'll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way. 'I want to sincerely thank all of the customers that have shopped with us in this time. IKEA Manchester, a store locals know and love, will continue to be the closest hub for home planning, meatballs and everything in between.' Bosses had hoped the Plan and Order in Stockport would 'become more accessible and sustainable for customers in the north west'. I did a haul of the new Oxford Street Ikea whilst on my lunch break & I managed to kit out with bargains under £3 However, it did come under criticism from some shoppers. In a Facebook post about the closure, one person wrote: 'I'm not surprised to be honest. It is very small.' While a second added: 'It wasn't the right shop for that place, they'd have been better off setting up an IKEA homeware and food shop there!' A third critic said: 'Really don't know why it opened in the first place. Pointless.' The news comes after IKEA opened its own hotel in the Canary Islands. The location offers cheap rooms, a swimming pool and breakfast is included while also offering some of their most popular homeware items. Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
