It will be followed by a second smaller outlet on Oxford Circus in Autumn 2023, part of a £1 billion investment blitz in London over the next three years.
There are also plans for a network of “click and collect” storage lockers at 20 sites around London and a new remote planning service for customers who want to be involved in the design of new kitchens or bathrooms from home. This will create 50 new jobs.
Mr Jelkeby said closures on London’s high streets before and during the pandemic gave the furniture giant the opportunity to find new sites for smaller stores serving local communities.
He described the capital as “one of the most innovative and exciting markets in the world for retail and e-commerce” and a “retail mecca globally.”
The new store in Hammersmith – the first Ikea opening in Britain since Greenwich in 2019 – is about a quarter of the size of a traditional store.
It will stock about 1,800 lines – mainly smaller items such as home furnishing accessories – to buy and take away. Another 4,000 bigger items such as the famous Billy bookcase range are on display only and have to be ordered.
