IKEA opens new London city centre store

Ikea's caller London store is successful the aged Topshop gathering connected Oxford Street. Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP
Source: AFP

Swedish furnishings elephantine IKEA connected Thursday opened a caller store successful the bosom of London's buying district, with a flurry of balloons, flags -- and elephantine meatballs.

The Oxford Street outlet has been 7 years successful the making and is portion of the retailer's strategy of bringing the planetary marque person to metropolis centres.

Tolga Oncu, retail manager astatine Ingka Group, the holding institution which controls astir of IKEA's stores, said they were encouraged by the "urban formats".

Others already beryllium successful places specified arsenic Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and Tokyo.

"We cognize the information that erstwhile we are physically present, not lone our carnal retail improves but besides our integer retail improves," said Oncu.

The 4,600-square-metre (nearly 50,000 square-feet) store is housed successful the erstwhile Topshop building, which the institution bought successful 2021 for £378 cardinal ($503 million).

Hundreds of people thronged the aisles connected Thursday to deafening euphony by a DJ, with attendance boosted by unusually summery temperatures successful the British capital.

The institution said it has been encouraged by the 'urban format' elsewhere successful the world. Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP
Source: AFP

Some shoppers held Swedish and UK flags arsenic they posed for photos with a elephantine meatball, arsenic others browsed the store, which it is hoped volition assistance regenerate Oxford Street aft the closure of respective big-name outlets.

With full income of 45 cardinal euros ($51 billion), Ikea, founded successful 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, is keeping its absorption connected carnal stores contempt the roar successful online shopping.

In 2023-24, online accounted for 26 percent of the company's turnover compared to conscionable 7 percent 5 years ago.

The UK is IKEA's fourth-biggest market, down Germany, the United States and France.

Oncu said Brexit -- Britain's tortuous departure from the European Union successful 2020 -- "hasn't made a difference" but said the institution was "closely monitoring" the commercialized warfare launched by US President Donald Trump.

"We person a planetary footprint wherever a batch of our accumulation comes from Europe," helium said.

"Then, of course, similar everyone else, we are besides looking for opportunities crossed the world."

IKEA has been looking astatine much section accumulation for a fig of years, peculiarly successful the United States, notably to debar exporting bulky items from Europe, helium added.

"Depending connected what the conclusions volition be, we volition person to look astatine (whether) we are inactive having a set-up that is the champion for america to support our prices arsenic debased arsenic possible," helium said.

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Source: AFP